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Bolt CEO urges EU to prioritize self-driving tech to compete with U.S. and China

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Europe must invest far more aggressively in autonomous vehicle technology if it wants to remain competitive against the United States and China, according to Markus Villig, CEO of Estonian ride-hailing and food delivery company Bolt.

Speaking to journalists on Friday, Villig said the European Union’s heavy focus on electric vehicles (EVs) risks sidelining what he called the “core technology of the next decade” — self-driving systems.

“There’s so much attention on EVs, but we’ve lost the plot on autonomous driving,” Villig said, warning that the technology gap between Europe and its global rivals is widening fast.

U.S. firms like Alphabet’s Waymo and Tesla, as well as Chinese players such as Baidu, WeRide, and Pony.ai, are leading the autonomous driving race. Waymo is preparing to launch autonomous ride-hailing services in London next year, highlighting Europe’s reliance on foreign technologies.

Villig said that the EU should treat autonomous mobility as a strategic technology, not just an industrial one, with implications for security and digital sovereignty. While the bloc is spending tens of billions of euros on EV subsidies and supply chains, he argued that comparable funding for self-driving development is virtually absent.

He proposed that the EU support domestic startups through subsidies and exclusive operating licences for robotaxis in certain cities, to help local firms gain scale before foreign competitors dominate the market.

Villig was scheduled to meet EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen later on Friday to discuss Europe’s role in the next generation of transport innovation.

Alibaba and Baidu Turn to In-House Chips for AI Training Amid U.S. Restrictions

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Alibaba and Baidu have begun using their own internally designed chips to train AI models, partly replacing Nvidia’s processors, according to a report from The Information. The move signals a major shift in China’s AI development strategy, as U.S. export controls continue to restrict access to advanced American-made semiconductors.

Key Developments

  • Alibaba has used its homegrown chips since early 2025 to train smaller AI models.

  • Baidu is testing its Kunlun P800 chip to train new versions of its Ernie AI model.

  • Both companies still rely on Nvidia for their most advanced models but are working to reduce dependence.

Impact on Nvidia

Nvidia remains dominant in AI training hardware, but China accounts for a large share of its business. The firm’s most powerful U.S.-approved chip for China, the H20, lags behind the H100 and Blackwell series — but still outperforms most Chinese alternatives.

However, employees cited by The Information said Alibaba’s latest AI chip matches the performance of Nvidia’s H20, narrowing the gap between U.S. and Chinese hardware.

An Nvidia spokesperson responded: “The competition has undeniably arrived … We’ll continue to work to earn the trust and support of mainstream developers everywhere.”

Geopolitical Pressure

  • U.S. export restrictions have pushed Chinese companies to accelerate domestic chip design.

  • Beijing has urged firms to rely on home-grown semiconductor technology as part of its strategic autonomy push.

  • Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently said talks with the White House over permission to sell a less advanced next-gen chip to China will take time.

According to the report, Nvidia has agreed to give the Trump administration 15% of China sales of its H20 chips in exchange for continued export licenses.

The Bigger Picture

China’s pivot toward domestic AI chips marks both a risk to Nvidia’s China revenues and a milestone for Chinese chipmakers, who are beginning to close the performance gap under intense geopolitical and economic pressure.

China Presses Tech Firms Over Nvidia H20 AI Chip Purchases Amid Security Concerns

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Chinese regulators have questioned major domestic tech firms, including Tencent, ByteDance, and Baidu, over their purchases of Nvidia’s H20 AI chips, sources told Reuters. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) and other agencies asked companies to justify why they were opting for U.S. chips instead of domestic alternatives and raised concerns that data submitted to Nvidia for U.S. government review could expose sensitive client information.

While Beijing has not issued a direct ban on Nvidia’s H20, companies were cautioned about its use in government-related or security-sensitive projects. Bloomberg earlier reported that firms received official notices discouraging reliance on the chip, while The Information claimed ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent were ordered to halt purchases outright. These reports could not be independently confirmed by Reuters.

Nvidia defended the H20, stressing it is “not a military product or for government infrastructure,” while noting China has never relied on U.S. chips for government operations. The chipmaker designed the H20 specifically for China after U.S. export curbs in late 2023 restricted sales of its most advanced processors. Although Washington briefly banned its sale this year, the Trump administration reversed the decision in July, restoring limited access.

The scrutiny threatens a key revenue source for Nvidia, which made $17 billion from China last fiscal year — about 13% of its global revenue. State media have recently amplified criticism, portraying the H20 as technologically inferior and a security risk. Meanwhile, Chinese chipmakers like Huawei are working to produce domestic AI processors rivaling Nvidia’s offerings, though U.S. sanctions on advanced equipment remain a hurdle for large-scale production.

The tensions underscore Beijing’s push for self-sufficiency in semiconductors as Washington weighs tighter controls. U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted he may allow Nvidia to sell a scaled-down version of its Blackwell AI chip in China, even as concerns grow over the military applications of advanced AI. At the same time, an unusual deal now requires Nvidia and AMD to share 15% of China chip sales revenue with the U.S. government.