Latest: OpenAI Goes Quiet on China Chip Controls as Nvidia Ties Deepen
OpenAI's silence removes a significant industry voice from congressional efforts to restrict advanced chip exports to China ahead of a planned lame-duck legislative push. Critics including Miles Brundage argue that what OpenAI does on this policy front is more consequential for US competitiveness than its near-term product decisions.
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OpenAI stopped advocating for strict US chip export limits on China, reversing a position it held as recently as March 2025, when it pressed the White House to maintain strict controls and expand the restricted chips list. By June 2026, OpenAI's public policy framework omitted China by name, and in October 2025 the company asked the White House to loosen some rules for AI safety testing. Congressional aides and lobbyists say they have noticed the shift; one aide said OpenAI officials "were with us on this and now their position is a bit more fuzzy." OpenAI did not address its reported meetings with lawmakers or officials when asked for comment.
Nvidia is OpenAI's chip supplier, finalized a $30 billion equity investment in OpenAI in February 2026, and guaranteed up to $105 billion for an Ohio data center it will exclusively supply. Nvidia also lobbies against chip export restrictions. No quid pro quo between those financial arrangements and OpenAI's policy shift has been reported. Items characterize OpenAI as at least remaining neutral rather than actively opposing chip controls.
Congressional China hawks had been counting on OpenAI's backing for a planned push to attach new chip restrictions to the defense spending bill during the lame-duck session after midterm elections. Anthropic's posture contrasts with OpenAI's: Anthropic publicly backed chip restriction bills and left a major tech trade association in September 2025 over that association's efforts to reshape them.
Politico reported on October 20, 2026 that OpenAI, after lobbying in March 2025 to keep strict chip export controls on China, has gone quiet as Congress prepares new limits.
One aide said the company's position had become "a bit more fuzzy". Nvidia, which lobbies against the restrictions, finalized a $30 billion equity investment in OpenAI in February 2026; its CEO argued in May 2025 that the controls cut Nvidia's China market share from 95% to 50%. No quid pro quo has been reported.
BackgroundGoverning AI: liability, regulation and geopolitics
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