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Poland Hopes for AI Chip Export Restrictions to Be Lifted Under Trump

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Poland is optimistic that the Trump administration will reverse the AI chip export restrictions imposed during the final days of President Joe Biden’s tenure. Dariusz Standerski, Poland’s deputy digital minister, expressed hopes on Wednesday that these restrictions, which limit Poland’s access to U.S.-designed AI chips, may be lifted under the new leadership.

The law, which was implemented by the Biden administration, categorized countries into three tiers. While 18 nations, including Japan, Britain, and France, were largely exempt from the restrictions, Poland and 120 other countries faced strict caps. Countries like Russia, China, and Iran were entirely barred from receiving the technology. Standerski criticized the decision, calling it “irresponsible” and stating that the Biden administration failed to provide a clear explanation for Poland’s placement in the second tier.

However, Standerski noted that Poland’s dialogue with the Trump administration had been “very constructive,” and he believes there is a “big chance” that Poland could be moved to the first tier, which would provide it with unrestricted access to the technology. Ongoing consultations are expected to last until May 15.

In addition, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski discussed the potential rollback of these restrictions with U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the AI Action Summit in Paris last month. Tech groups, including Microsoft, have also urged the Trump administration to ease these restrictions, advocating that such measures should not be extended to U.S. allies.

Furthermore, the European Commission has voiced support for the idea, stating that the EU should be able to access advanced AI chips from the U.S. without limitations.

Celestial AI Secures $250 Million to Enhance AI Chip Connectivity

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Silicon Valley-based startup Celestial AI has raised an additional $250 million in venture capital, bringing its total funding to $515 million. The company aims to accelerate AI computing by leveraging photonics—a technology that uses light instead of electrical signals—to enhance the speed of data transfer between AI processing and memory chips.

Memory bandwidth, which determines the efficiency of AI systems, is a crucial factor in chip performance and a key consideration in U.S. government export controls aimed at limiting China’s AI capabilities. Currently, Nvidia dominates this space with its proprietary NVLink and NVSwitch technologies, prompting a surge in investments to develop alternative solutions. Celestial AI’s competitors, Lightmatter and Ayar Labs, have raised $850 million and $370 million, respectively, in similar efforts.

Celestial AI is backed by AMD Ventures, the investment arm of Nvidia’s competitor Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). The company is working on a “photonic fabric” that acts as a high-speed bridge between multiple chips. According to CEO Dave Lazovsky, the technology improves efficiency by reducing energy consumption and latency while saving valuable chip space.

“There are no good answers outside of Nvidia,” Lazovsky said in an interview at Celestial AI’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California. “What we’ve created with photonic fabric achieves similar functionality but with superior energy efficiency and lower latency.”

The funding round was led by Fidelity Management & Research and included BlackRock, Maverick Capital, Tiger Global Management, and former Cadence Design Systems CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Existing investors such as AMD Ventures, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Singapore’s state investor Temasek, and Porsche Automobil Holding also participated.

Marvell Shares Suffer Worst Day in 24 Years Amid Tepid AI Revenue Forecast

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Marvell Technology’s (MRVL.O) shares plunged by 19.8% on Thursday, marking their worst day in over two decades. The sharp decline follows a revenue forecast for the upcoming quarter that failed to meet investor expectations, reigniting concerns about cooling demand for AI infrastructure.

The stock closed at $72.28, reaching a four-month low of $71.65 earlier in the day. Investors had been looking to Marvell’s earnings, a key supplier of custom AI chips, for indications of sustained demand in the AI sector, which has driven significant market growth since the rise of ChatGPT in late 2022. However, Marvell’s forecast for the next quarter was only slightly above analyst expectations, falling short of the more substantial beat that investors were hoping for.

TD Cowen analyst Joshua Buchalter noted that investors were anticipating stronger revenue growth, given recent comments on capital expenditures from some of Marvell’s largest customers. With over 45 million shares traded, significantly more than the 50-day average of 14 million, the market responded nervously.

The decline in Marvell’s stock price also weighed on other chipmakers, including Broadcom, which saw its shares drop nearly 7%, and Nvidia, which slid by 5%. Marvell’s performance led to a $15 billion loss in market value, and its shares are down 18% this year after an 83% rise in 2024.

Marvell’s CEO, Matt Murphy, did highlight that the company had exceeded its fiscal 2025 AI revenue target and is optimistic about surpassing its projections for fiscal 2026. However, analysts attributed the weak forecast to a slowdown in demand for on-premise data center products, as Big Tech shifts spending towards AI chips, leaving Marvell’s core networking business, which focuses on ethernet cables and fiber channels, in a weaker position.

The semiconductor sector overall has faced pressure from tariffs imposed by the U.S. government, adding to investor concerns. Analysts from Melius Research noted that sentiment around AI semiconductor stocks is currently negative, and many brokerages have cut their price targets for Marvell following the results.