AI Week Ahead: Nvidia/AMD China Chip Sales, Baidu Partnership, Earnings
The week of August 10-16, 2025, is poised to be a pivotal period for the artificial intelligence landscape, marked by significant financial maneuvers, strategic partnerships, and ongoing discussions about AI’s transformative impact on the digital world. Key players from chipmakers to software innovators are navigating complex geopolitical currents and evolving technological frontiers, all while preparing to unveil their latest financial performances.
A notable and unconventional development sees AI chip giants Nvidia and AMD agreeing to a unique arrangement with the U.S. government. Both companies will remit 15% of their revenues derived from the sale of specific AI chips in China back to the U.S. government. This unprecedented deal, reported by Bloomberg, is a condition for securing export licenses, allowing the resumption of shipments of chips like Nvidia’s H20 and AMD’s MI308, which are China-focused versions designed to comply with earlier export controls. The move, reflecting President Donald Trump’s consistent push for financial returns from trade concessions, has raised eyebrows, potentially unsettling both the involved U.S. companies and Beijing. While Nvidia affirmed its adherence to U.S. government rules, hoping such export controls would still enable global competition, analysts are monitoring the potential impact on profit margins and the possibility of cost burdens shifting to suppliers. This agreement allows for a significant market opportunity, with projections suggesting a potential for $3 billion to $5 billion in revenue for these companies from China by year-end.
Meanwhile, the AI ecosystem in Asia is seeing a significant collaboration between South Korean AI semiconductor firm DEEPX and Chinese tech giant Baidu. The two companies have formalized a “PaddlePaddle Technology Ecosystem Partnership” aimed at accelerating global on-device AI projects. This strategic alliance will leverage DEEPX’s expertise in low-power on-device AI semiconductors, particularly its DX-M1 chip, to enhance Baidu’s open-source deep learning framework, PaddlePaddle, with powerful edge computing capabilities. The partnership intends to drive the adoption of AI solutions across various industrial applications, including drones, robotics, and optical character recognition (OCR), through joint development and global marketing initiatives. Discussions are already underway for next-generation products, with DEEPX’s upcoming 2nm-based DX-M2 chip being considered for validating prototypes for Baidu’s large AI model, ERNIE-4.5-VL-28B-A3B.
The broader impact of AI agents on the web continues to be a hot topic, signaling a fundamental shift in how users interact with online content and how websites are designed. These autonomous systems are increasingly automating complex web tasks, from e-commerce to customer service, by emulating human browsing behavior. This evolution is expected to enhance operational efficiency and personalize user experiences, but also raises profound questions about the future of web design, potentially leading to a prioritization of machine-readable formats over traditional human-centric visuals. The rise of “companion algorithms” suggests a future where AI agents proactively consume information and make recommendations on behalf of users, influencing everything from purchasing decisions to content consumption habits. However, this transformative potential comes with challenges, including AI agents’ struggles with complex, human-designed web interfaces and significant security vulnerabilities such as prompt injection and credential exfiltration, necessitating robust defense mechanisms.
As the week progresses, several technology companies are slated to release their earnings reports, offering insights into their financial health and strategic directions in the AI era. Cisco, having already reported its Q3 FY2025 earnings on May 14, announced strong results with total revenue up 11% year-over-year to $14.1 billion, driven by a 15% increase in product revenue. Notably, Cisco exceeded its fiscal year 2025 AI infrastructure order target a full quarter early, securing over $600 million in orders from web-scale customers in Q3 alone. BigBear.ai is anticipated to release its Q2 2025 earnings on August 11, with analysts forecasting an EPS of -$0.06. The company’s Q1 2025 results showed a miss on EPS expectations, though analysts maintain a “Buy” consensus rating with a positive price target. Finally, quantum computing pioneer Rigetti Computing is expected to report its Q2 2025 earnings on August 12. The company recently announced plans to introduce a new modular system architecture in 2025, aiming for a 36-qubit system by mid-year and over 100 qubits by the end of 2025, with further ambitions for a 336-qubit Lyra™ system.
The week ahead underscores the dynamic and multifaceted nature of the AI industry, where geopolitical strategies, innovative partnerships, and technological advancements converge to reshape the global economic and digital landscape.