New York, Jan 29, 2026, 08:58 (EST) — Premarket
- Nvidia shares climbed roughly 1.6% in premarket trading after CEO Jensen Huang revealed that China is close to finalising a licence for the H200 AI chip
- Beijing has given the green light to ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent to purchase over 400,000 H200 chips, but only under certain conditions, according to a Reuters report
- Microsoft and Meta’s hefty capital spending plans kept attention fixed on AI chip demand—and the bottlenecks in supply.
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.O) shares climbed roughly 1.6% to $191.52 in premarket Thursday. CEO Jensen Huang revealed China is wrapping up the license approval for their H200 AI chip, expressing hope for a “favourable decision.” The stock had closed at $188.45. Reuters
The timing is crucial. China has allowed ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent to acquire more than 400,000 H200 chips combined, but the approvals come with conditions still being finalized, sources told Reuters. So far, customers haven’t turned those permits into actual orders. The report also noted Chinese officials are considering rules that might require buyers to use foreign chips alongside domestic ones—a sharp reminder that political shifts can be as rapid as demand changes.
Nvidia’s top customers are pumping more cash into AI infrastructure—data centers and servers powering AI models. Microsoft, for example, spent $37.5 billion on capital expenditures in its latest quarter, with roughly two-thirds funneled into computing chips. CEO Satya Nadella told analysts the company is trying to “allocate capacity” amid ongoing “supply constraints.” (Capex includes servers, chips, and data-center expansions.) Reuters
Meta is ramping up spending. The Facebook parent company expects capital expenditures between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2026. CFO Susan Li cautioned that capacity constraints will persist through much of next year. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told analysts, “This is going to be a big year for delivering personal superintelligence,” referring to Meta’s advanced AI initiatives. Meanwhile, Gabelli Funds portfolio manager John Belton described the valuation as “really not that demanding.” Reuters
Nvidia has become a stand-in for that spending cycle, with each update on capital expenditure and supply swiftly shaping forecasts for GPU demand. The H200 is an AI accelerator—a top-tier chip designed to train and run AI systems—and the key issue in China is whether these chips will move across the border in significant numbers.
Alongside the China narrative, another development emerged: The Information reported that Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon are in talks to invest as much as $60 billion in OpenAI, with Nvidia reportedly considering up to $30 billion. Reuters flagged it couldn’t verify the story right away, and none of the companies involved have confirmed the talks.
Nvidia climbed 1.8% in the previous session, fueling a chip sector rally that pushed the S&P 500 past 7,000 for the first time. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 2.3%, Reuters reports. Now, all eyes are on Thursday’s open to see if the momentum sticks or if investors take profits.
The upside isn’t straightforward. China’s approvals could remain too restrictive to generate solid orders, while new policy shifts in Washington or Beijing might alter the landscape again. Investors are also questioning if this capex surge will produce enough growth to justify the spending, especially as major buyers test in-house chip production and alternative suppliers.
Nvidia’s next major event is Feb. 25, when it reports fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 results and holds its earnings call. The company plans to release written commentary from its CFO before the call. Investors will focus closely on any updates regarding shipments to China, delivery schedules, and supply chain issues.
