Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Warns Against Selling AI Chips to China

Jan 21, 2026
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei cautioned that U.S. plans to allow advanced AI chip sales to China could have serious national security consequences, comparing the move to selling nuclear weapons to North Korea.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Warns Against Selling AI Chips to China
Image: By TechCrunch

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has warned that selling advanced AI chips to China would be a grave mistake with significant national security risks, according to Bloomberg. He made the remarks during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, calling the decision to ease export restrictions “crazy” and likening it to selling nuclear weapons to North Korea.

The comments follow U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to relax a ban on exporting advanced AI chips to China, allowing companies such as Nvidia to sell their H200 processors under new rules. The H200 is currently the most advanced chip approved for export, while Nvidia’s newer Blackwell generation and upcoming Vera Rubin family remain restricted.

Amodei said China’s AI development has been constrained by the existing chip embargo and urged the U.S. government to maintain those limits. He has previously argued that advanced chip technology represents one of America’s last strategic advantages and that easing restrictions could undermine national security.

Rival chipmaker AMD is also seeking clearance to sell its MI325X processors in China under the new export framework.

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