Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay the US government 15% of their revenues from semiconductor sales to China in exchange for export licenses, an unprecedented quid pro quo arrangement aimed at solidifying America’s AI business dominance while maintaining trade ties with China.

A Fragile Foothold in China Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) recently secured U.S. approval to resume sales of their lower-end AI chips, the H20 and MI308, respectively, to China,

Nvidia, the world’s biggest chip maker, is often described as the “pick and shovel” provider for the new technology’s massive investment story. Earnings from AMD, Arista Networks, and Astera Labs suggests that there are subtle ways to play the trade.