Nvidia did not warn at least some major customers in advance about new U.S. export rules it was told about a week ago requiring it to obtain licenses to sell its China-focused artificial intelligence chip,

Led by Jensen Huang, dubbed the 'Taylor Swift of tech', the chip giant has become pivotal in the race for AI supremacy.

The surprise wasn’t just limited to Nvidia’s Chinese clients — reportedly, even the company’s local sales teams had no forewarning of the impending licensing clampdown.