Nvidia will make AI supercomputers in the U.S. Is the company trying to win favor with the Trump administration ahead of new semiconductor-specific tariffs?

Nvidia will make AI supercomputers in the U.S., the company said Monday.

In an apparent overture to President Donald Trump, Nvidia Corp. said Monday that it would start making artificial-intelligence supercomputers in the U.S. The move came hours before the federal government initiated probes of imported semiconductors and chipmaking equipment.

“The engines of the world’s AI infrastructure are being built in the United States for the first time,” Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said in a release Monday morning.

But while the U.S. has spared semiconductors and other forms of technology from steep “reciprocal” tariffs on China, the Trump administration said over the weekend that specific tech-focused tariffs are coming soon. A notice Monday afternoon from the Commerce Department said that a document would be published Wednesday related to a national-security investigation of the industry.

Nvidia’s latest announcement could represent an attempt by the company to show its commitment to U.S. manufacturing, in hopes of gaining better treatment for its products once the semiconductor tariff orders come out.

Trump seemed to think so, saying that Nvidia made its move because of the election and “because of a thing called tariffs.”

Nvidia also said on Monday that it would produce “up to half-a-trillion dollars of AI infrastructure in the United States” over the next four years, in partnership with various companies. The company previously announced its involvement with Stargate, a joint venture focused on U.S. tech-infrastructure projects.

“Adding American manufacturing helps us better meet the incredible and growing demand for AI chips and supercomputers, strengthens our supply chain and boosts our resiliency,” Huang said.

Nvidia describes AI supercomputers as “the engines of a new type of data center created for the sole purpose of processing artificial intelligence — AI factories that are the infrastructure powering a new AI industry.”

Ahead of the announcement, Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes wondered whether Nvidia would end up making such a move.

“Like Apple, we wouldn’t be surprised if Nvidia needed to make a larger commitment to investing in domestic semiconductor infrastructure — beyond the vague $100 billion that has been discussed,” he said in a note to clients. “Perhaps Nvidia will need to get more specific about the cash it can invest in Arizona with TSMC and even commit to using Intel’s foundry for certain products.”

Apple Inc. has also pledged to invest $500 billion in the U.S. over four years, including through the creation of a new facility in Texas meant to support AI software. When announcing the plan in February, Apple said it would start domestic assembly of AI servers that used to be made outside the U.S.