Amazon, Microsoft back effort to restrict Nvidia's exports to China, WSJ reports

Amazon is joining Microsoft in backing legislation to further curb chipmaker Nvidia's ability to export chips to China, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

AI Brief

The GAIN AI Act would force AI chipmakers to fulfill US orders before foreign customers to safeguard national security.
Microsoft, Amazon, and Anthropic support the bill, while Meta and Google remain neutral, but Trump has not taken a position.
Nvidia warns the law could hurt global competition, as Washington seeks to limit Chinas access to advanced AI chips.

The legislation, known as the GAIN AI Act, is also backed by AI startup Anthropic, the report said.

Short for Guaranteeing Access and Innovation for National Artificial Intelligence (GAIN), the Act was introduced as part of the National Defense Authorization Act and stipulates that AI chipmakers prioritize domestic orders for advanced processors before supplying them to foreign customers.

Microsoft publicly came out in favor of the legislation, while officials at Amazon's cloud unit have privately told Senate staffers that they also support it, the report said.

Meta Platforms and Alphabet's Google have not taken a position on the Act, and neither has U.S. President Donald Trump, the report added.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Amazon, Microsoft, and Anthropic did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Nvidia, the world's dominant chipmaker, has previously said the GAIN AI Act stands to restrict global competition for advanced chips, limiting computing power available to other countries.

The touted legislation reflects Washington's attempt to prioritize American needs amid fears that China would leverage access to high-end AI capabilities to supercharge its military.