Speaking at the Financial Times’ Future of AI Summit, Huang had a dig at both the US and UK, claiming the West is being dragged down by “cynicism” and could do with “more optimism” if it wants to stay relevant in AI.

He was particularly unimpressed by America’s emerging patchwork of state-level AI laws which he fears will result in “50 new regulations.” By contrast, he pointed to China’s willingness to shovel energy subsidies into its AI sector, allowing local outfits to run Nvidia-like infrastructure dirt cheap. “Power is free,” he quipped.

Nvidia finds itself on the business end of Trump-era export bans that still block it from flogging its most powerful AI kit to Beijing.

Huang’s gripe comes despite a recent chinwag between US President Donald Trump and Chinese supremo Xi Jinping. The CEO has long warned that the performance gap between US and Chinese AI models is narrowing, and that Uncle Sam’s hard line might backfire by forcing the world to decouple from American silicon.

Last month, Trump met Xi and emerged with his usual bluster, declaring to CBS News, “The most advanced, we will not let anybody have them other than the United States.”

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt later doubled down, stating, “As for the most advanced chips, the Blackwell chip, that's not something we're interested in selling to China at this time.”