Amid skyrocketing demand for artificial intelligence systems, the chip-making giant has been thrust into the economic feud between Beijing and Washington.

© Kim Soo-Hyeon/Reuters

Amid skyrocketing demand for artificial intelligence systems, the chip-making giant has been thrust into the economic feud between Beijing and Washington.

Jensen Huang, the Nvidia chief executive, and the leaders of Samsung and Hyundai staged a regular-folks outing in Seoul before announcing a business deal.

© Yonhap, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The president signaled he would discuss the sale of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips in a summit on Thursday, a move U.S. officials warned would be a “massive” national security mistake.

The A.I. chip maker has become a linchpin in the Trump administration’s trade negotiations in Asia.

An executive of a Singaporean firm called Megaspeed socialized with Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. Now the company is being scrutinized by U.S. officials for its ties to China.