Why is AMD's 15 percent MI308 China-revenue payment still unclear?
The 15 percent payment was publicly described as part of AMD's license arrangement, and AMD said it would pay if it shipped MI308 chips. Shipments and about $390 million in revenue then occurred, but AMD's annual report characterized the payment as an expectation without a regulation behind it and said it could invite litigation. Treat the rate as an announced commercial and licensing expectation, not as a fully defined legal charge.
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The levy terms
- 1MI308 halt creates leverageRegulatory
New license requirement hits the MI308; AMD warns of up to $800 million in charges
A day after Nvidia disclosed the H20 license requirement and a $5.5 billion charge, AMD filed an 8-K saying the same new rule covered exports of its MI308 to China, Hong Kong, Macau and other D:5 countries. It expected up to $800 million of inventory, purchase-commitment and reserve charges, said it would apply for licenses with no assurance of approval, and its shares fell more than 7 percent.
AMD Form 8-K (SEC) ·
The Export Control applies to the Company’s MI308 products. The Company expects to apply for licenses but there is no assurance that licenses will be granted. The Company expects that the Export Control may result in…
Why it matters here. The MI308 licensing halt made a new approval path necessary for sales, so Commerce's resumption of license reviews became the first step toward any licensed shipment arrangement.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- 2License reviews resumeAnnouncement
Commerce will resume reviewing MI308 licenses; AMD says shipments will restart once approved
The day after Nvidia said it had been assured H20 licenses would be granted, AMD said the Commerce Department would move forward with its MI308 license applications and that it planned to resume shipments as approvals came, praising the administration's trade negotiations. The stock rose more than 6 percent.
CNBC ·
The company said Tuesday that the U.S. Commerce Department plans to resume reviewing its license applications to send the products to the world's second-largest economy. AMD said it plans to start shipments once those…
Why it matters here. Once Commerce was again moving forward with MI308 applications, the White House could confirm an arrangement tying AMD's China-chip licenses to a 15 percent payment.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- 3White House confirms paymentRegulatory
White House confirms Nvidia and AMD will hand over 15 percent of China chip revenue for their licenses
After the Financial Times reported the arrangement, a White House official confirmed to CBS News that Nvidia and AMD had agreed to pay the US government 15 percent of revenue from H20 and MI308 sales in China as a condition of the export licenses granted the previous week. No regulation was published, a point AMD would later flag to investors.
CBS News ·
U.S. chipmakers Nvidia and AMD will pay the U.S. government 15% of revenue generated by sales of their AI chips in China, a White House official confirmed to CBS News.
Why it matters here. The official confirmation of a 15 percent arrangement set the reported condition under which AMD later said it would be prepared to ship and pay.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- 4AMD accepts the expectationAnnouncement
Su: AMD holds MI308 licenses and is prepared to pay the 15 percent
Speaking at a Wired conference in San Francisco, Su said AMD had licenses to ship some MI308 chips to China and would pay the 15 percent levy if it shipped them, the company's first direct public acceptance of the arrangement.
Reuters (via Yahoo Finance) ·
Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su on Thursday said the company has licenses to ship some of its MI 308 chips to China and is prepared to pay a 15% tax to the U.S. government if it ships them.
Why it matters here. AMD's statement that it held some MI308 licenses and would pay if it shipped preceded the late-2025 sales that made the payment issue operational rather than hypothetical.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- 5Revenue makes it concreteFinancial
Q4 2025: first MI308 revenue, about $390 million, and a $360 million reserve release
AMD's fourth quarter included roughly $390 million of MI308 sales to China that were not in its guidance, filled from orders placed early in 2025, plus the release of about $360 million of the inventory reserves booked in the second quarter. It guided to about $100 million of MI308 revenue in the first quarter of 2026 and nothing beyond, with Su calling China 'a very dynamic situation' and saying MI325 license applications had been submitted.
AMD Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1 (SEC) ·
In the fourth quarter, AMD benefited from an approximate $360 million release of previously reserved AMD Instinct™ MI308 inventory and related charges. Fourth quarter AMD Instinct MI308 revenue to China was…
Why it matters here. After roughly $390 million of MI308 sales to China, AMD's annual report addressed the legal basis and terms of the expected payment connected with those shipments.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- 6No regulation identifiedFinancial
10-K: the 15 percent is an 'expectation' with no regulation behind it, and could invite litigation
In its annual report AMD disclosed that it had begun MI308 shipments at the end of fiscal 2025, that net export-control charges for the year came to about $440 million after the reversal, and that US officials expected 15 percent of licensed MI308 revenue although no rule establishing the requirement had been published. It warned that any such demand could subject the company to litigation and favour competitors not bound by the arrangement.
AMD Form 10-K (SEC) ·
U.S. government officials have expressed an expectation that the U.S. government will receive 15% of the revenue generated from licensed MI308 sales to China; however, to date, the U.S. government has not published a…
Why it matters here. AMD's disclosure leaves the 15 percent as an expectation without a regulation behind it and says the arrangement could invite litigation.
US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
Timelines in this chain
- US Export Controls on AMD's AI Chips in China: From the MI250 License to MI308 and MI325X
- AMD Instinct: From MI300X to Helios and the Gigawatt Deals
- US Export Controls on Nvidia AI Chips to China: A100 to H20 to H200
A chain is written by the editor from entries already published on the timelines above, each of which was read against its source before publication. The chain changes when those entries do. Data and terms.