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Nvidia is known for its bet on cutting edge graphics chips — the kind designed to power a gamer-led metaverse. But a front row to the virtual universe cannot shield it from some very real world problems.
英伟达以其对尖端图形芯片的押注而闻名——这种芯片被设计用于驱动玩家主导的元宇宙。但是，身处虚拟世界的第一排并不能让它避开一些非常现实的问题。
The US company — whose $334bn market value makes it the world’s second most valuable semiconductor maker after Taiwan’s TSMC — has found itself caught out by the increasingly fractious relationship between the US and China.
这家市值3340亿美元的美国公司发现，自己陷入了日益紧张的美中关系困境。该公司是仅次于台湾台积电(TSMC)的全球市值第二大半导体制造商。
The White House wants to make it harder for Beijing to obtain advanced semiconductor technology. This week it ordered Nvidia to stop selling two of its top computing chips to companies in China. Nvidia warned that the new licensing requirements could cost it as much as $400mn in lost sales for the current quarter.
白宫希望让北京更难获得先进的半导体技术。本周，白宫下令英伟达停止向中国企业出售两款顶级计算芯片。英伟达警告称，新的许可证要求可能使其当前季度的销售额损失高达4亿美元。
A 12 per cent drop in Nvidia’s share price suggests investors believe the losses will increase if Washington moves to widen the scope of its export ban. China is one of Nvidia’s biggest markets. The country accounted for $7.1bn in revenue, or 26 per cent of the group total, last year.
英伟达股价下跌12%，表明投资者认为，如果美国政府采取措施扩大出口禁令的范围，损失将会增加。中国是英伟达最大的市场之一。去年，中国为该集团贡献了71亿美元的收入，占集团总收入的26%。
Nvidia cannot easily source alternative markets for its chips. The pandemic triggered a surge in demand for PCs, video game consoles and other electronic devices that Nvidia’s chips power. But consumers are now cutting back on discretionary spending. Sales of tech devices and chip demand have both retrenched.
英伟达无法轻易为其芯片找到替代市场。疫情引发了对个人电脑、视频游戏机和其他使用英伟达芯片的电子设备的需求激增。但消费者现在正在削减可支配的支出。科技设备销售和芯片需求双双萎缩。
At Nvidia’s all-important gaming business, which makes graphics processors used in PC gaming, sales fell by a third during the second quarter. Demand is not expected to rebound anytime soon.
英伟达最重要的游戏业务是生产用于PC游戏的图形处理器，该业务第二季度销售额下降了三分之一。预计需求不会很快反弹。
It is not alone. Global semiconductor revenue is expected to grow just 7.4 per cent in 2022 and will contract 2.5 per cent in 2023, according to research group Gartner.
这种情况并非孤例。据研究机构高德纳称，预计2022年全球半导体收入将仅增长7.4%，2023年将收缩2.5%。
But a temporary lull in the chip cycle may not be Nvidia’s biggest worry. The White House’s determination to create a homegrown chip sector has encouraged Beijing to funnel more resources into building up its own domestic chipmakers and suppliers. The desire for self-sufficiency on both sides could change the global chip market for good.
但芯片周期的暂时停滞可能不是英伟达最大的担忧。白宫打造本土芯片行业的决心，已经激励北京方面投入更多资源，打造自己的本土芯片制造商和供应商。双方对自给自足的渴望可能会彻底改变全球芯片市场。