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Shares in Nvidia Corporation and other chip technology companies are down in premarket trading this morning after Nvidia confirmed that it would take a significant financial hit to cover costs associated with a newly required export license so it can ship some of its latest chips outside of the United States. Heres what you need to know about the new requirement and its effect on tech stocks. Whats happened? Yesterday, AI chipmaking giant Nvidia revealed that it will record a $5.5 billion charge this year related to its H20 chips, sending the stock down in premarket trading this morning. Nvidia made the revelation about a week after the Trump administration added new export license requirements to the H20. Nvidia initially revealed that information in a Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated April 9. In that filing, Nvidia revealed that the U.S. government now requires Nvidia to obtain an export license to export its H20 chips to China and select other countries. Due to this, Nvidia expects to incur about $5.5 billion in costs related to inventory, purchase commitments, and related reserves of the H20. The H20 chip is a chip Nvidia designed especially for the Chinese marketplace in order to comply with U.S. export restrictions, notes CNBC. In 2024, Nvidia made between $12 billion and $15 billion selling the H20. But now the associated $5.5 billion charge will take a significant chunk out of those revenues. The Trump administration’s new export controls are also a sign that Nvidia could face an increasingly challenging environment when exporting its chips to countries that the U.S. believes could use them in ways that could disadvantage America. In Nvidias 8-K filing, the company said that the new export license requirement covers the Companys H20 integrated circuits and any other circuits achieving the H20s memory bandwidth, interconnect bandwidth, or combination thereof and that the United States government indicated that the license requirement addresses the risk that the covered products may be used in, or diverted to, a supercomputer in China. But China (including Hong Kong and Macau), isnt the only country that the new export license requirement applies to. The license is also required for other so-called D:5 countries. According to a March 2024 publication by the United States Department of Commerces Bureau of Industry and Security, D:5 countries comprise over two dozen nations, including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iran, Libya, Nicaragua, Russia, and Venezuela. On April 14, the United States government said the license requirement would be in effect for the indefinite future, according to Nvidia’s filing. Chip stocks fall The expected $5.5 billion charge related to Nvidias H20 chips has sent the stock tumbling nearly 6% in premarket trading this morning as of the time of this writing. Nvidia shares (Nasdaq: NVDA) are currently down around $6.45 to $105.75. However, its not just Nvidia shares that are down. The stock prices of chipmakers often move in unisonsuggesting that most investors believe that what is good or bad for one company could be good or bad for the chip industry as a whole. The new export license requirement on Nvidia is a sign to many that U.S. chipmakers may see rougher waters ahead when it comes to exporting their products across the globe. Rougher export waters could lead to higher costs, reduced profits, or both. Other chipmakers this morning are currently seeing their stock price down, too, including: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE: TSM): down 3% Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC): down 2.7% Broadcom Inc. (Nasdaq: AVGO): down 4% Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU): down 3.8% Arm Holdings plc (Nasdaq: ARM): down 4.8% QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM): down 2.2% Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMD): down 7% ASML warns about weaker orders However, the Nvidia news may not be the only thing dragging down these other chip companies. Currently, shares in the Dutch company ASML Holding N.V. (Nasdaq: ASML) are also down 4.7% in premarket trading as of the time of this writing. ASML isnt a chip maker itself. It manufactures the critical machines that chipmakers need to produce their chips. As noted by the Wall Street Journal, ASML has now reported that orders for its machines that help make semiconductors totaled $4.45 billion in its first quarter. That was well below the $5.5 billion that analysts were expecting, suggesting a massive slowdown in once-expected production by chipmakers. ASML warned that President Trumps policies were creating uncertainty for the semiconductor industry. Not including todays premarket falls, companies operating in the semiconductor space have had a rough 2025 so farnot helped by Trumps recent tariff policies and now, tightening export rules. As of market close yesterday, since the beginning of the year, NVDA shares were down 16.4%, TSM shares were down 21.4%, AVGO shares were down 22.8%, MU shares were down 15.5%, AMD shares were down 21.1%, and ARM shares were down 17.5%. Before todays premarket drop, ASML shares were down 1.8% for the year.
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For about 20 years, Docusign has been known as a tool for collecting digital signatureshelping businesses replace paper forms with electronic versions that are just as secure and legally binding. Just over a year ago, the company announced its development of an “intelligent agreement management,” or IAM, platform. This platform uses AI not only to gather signatures but also to assist with creating new agreements and organizing contracts after theyve been signed. These features contributed to strong earnings in Docusign’s most recent quarter, beating analyst expectations and helping customers transform contracts from hard-to-manage text files and paper printouts into actionable data. “It’s literally a revolution in how agreements are managed inside of companies,” says Allan Thygesen, Docusign’s CEO. Traditionally, even digitally signed documents are still stored as word processing files or PDFs, often scattered across company servers and cloud systems. Although critical to company operationsfrom hiring to product sales”Businesses really run on agreements,” says Docusign Chief Revenue Officer Paula Hansen. Yet these documents are often difficult to scan and analyze systematically. That makes it challenging to answer even basic questions, such as which agreements are up for renewal next month, without time-consuming human review. “It really should be structured data that’s managed by software,” says Dmitri Krakovsky, Docusign’s chief product officer. “But in fact, it usually sits in text somewhereyou cannot interrogate the contract.” Docusign’s IAM platform aims to solve that by giving customers a centralized space to store and track contractsincluding those housed in other cloud systemsreducing the need to hunt down relevant files. Its AI tools can automatically ingest, analyze, and search contracts. Meanwhile, an automation platform called Maestro helps companies build workflows around agreements, such as collecting customer data via webforms, gathering signatures, and verifying signer identities. Once signed, contracts can be saved automatically, and Maestro can log relevant data to third-party systems like Salesforce. [Image: Docusign] Now, Docusign is unveiling a suite of new features to make it easier for users to collaborate on contracts, track compliance, review them with AI, and verify the identity of signers. Launching at this weeks Docusign Momentum conference, a new AI engine called Docusign Iris will leverage the companys deep contract experience to apply the most suitable AI models for various tasks. “We get to benefit from our deep understanding of how agreements are structured,” Thygesen says. “There’s sort of an inherent meta-structure to agreements, and therefore an ability to develop better models for extraction.” New virtual workspaces will enable collaboration on complex, multistep agreements. A feature called Obligation Management will automatically extract and highlight what each party is required to deliver and whenensuring deadlines arent missed. This data can also be integrated into other software, like procurement management tools, eliminating the need for manual data entry, Krakovsky explains. [Image: Docusign] By next month, Docusign plans to release a beta version of a new feature called Agreement Deska ticketing system that helps companies organize and manage contract-related tasks, similar to developer or help desk systems. Its designed for use across departmentsnot just legalsupporting teams like sales, HR, and procurement. Agreement Desk offers visibility into task statuses and required actions. New contract prep tools will also make it easier to populate templates with data from across a companys systems. Later this year, Docusign expects to roll out more advanced AI agents that can further automate contract processes. These tools will recommend next steps, highlight contracts up for renewal, flag potential issues, and even generate draft communications. Enhanced AI review features will identify contract terms that conflict with company policies, which can be written in natural language. Users can continue editing contracts in familiar tools like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, where AI-suggested redline changes will also appear, says Thygesen. Thats important for a solution meant to enhancerather than replaceexisting workflows. “Trying to get people to move out of the tools that they like to work inemail, Wordhas not ended well for anyone,” he says. No matter the tools or workflows, Docusign’s management and AI features are designed to help customers avoid missed opportunities caused by delays or overlooked deadlines. [Image: Docusign] Some customers are already seeing the benefits. Kelly Park Capital, which connects independent financial advisers and their clients with investment opportunities like hedge funds and private equity, uses Docusign’s systems to digitize and manage complex investment subscription documents. “These documents are hundreds of pages long, typically, and they are filled with dense, archaic, legalistic, regulatory-driven language,” says Dean Rubino, managing partner at Kelly Park Capital. “So if you’re not used to that, and you’re trying to do it in mass, it’s almost impossible.” Using Docusign technology, the company collects preliminary datalike client info and investment typesvia web forms, which Maestro then automatically adds to the correct digital template. This saves around 70% of the time previously spent manually filling contracts and reduces the risk of transcription errors, Rubino says. Docusign’s upcoming workspace feature will also help Kelly Park Capital collaborate more effectively on documents. Meanwhile, AI tools may soon enable automatic updates to templatesuseful for applying regulatory changes across similar agreements. While other tools exist for managing legal documents and using AI to analyze them, Docusign leaders believe their long history with contractsand the trust of nearly 1.7 million customersgives them an edge. “It’s still really early days,” says Hansen. “But the results are exceeding our expectations, and we’re fortunate to have a really large customer base and a customer base that trusts us.”
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Design industry leaders trust artificial intelligence less than they did a year ago, and many see the world as an increasingly uncertain place. These are a few of the most striking takeaways from the 2025 State of Design & Make report from the design and engineering software maker Autodesk. This third annual design industry outlook is based on surveys and interviews with 5,594 industry leaders, futurists, and experts across industries including architecture, engineering, construction, and operations, design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment. Leaders from what Autodesk calls the design and make industries were asked to report on a wide range of topics, including adoption of digital technologies, sustainability efforts, supply chain challenges, and the growth of AI. [Image: Autodesk] AI is a recurring topic in the report, but one of the most striking results is just how skeptical industry leaders are becoming about AI and its use in their businesses. Only 65% of architecture, engineering, and construction professionals say they trust AI, down from 76% last year. That may not change its impact on the business, however, as 68% of firm leaders believe AI will ultimately enhance their industry, compared with 48% who think it will be a force of destabilization. “Its not surprising to see trust in AI dip as the architecture industry moves from experimentation to implementation. Architects are navigating real-world challenges, including global economic uncertainty and tight budgets, complex stakeholder needs, and increasing pressure to deliver sustainable outcomes. That creates healthy skepticism about any new technology,” says Racel Amour, head of generative AI, architecture, engineering and construction at Autodesk. “While AI excels at pattern recognition, users often struggle with trusting its decisions due to a lack of transparency and understanding of the reasoning behind the decisions. This is especially true for architects, who need to be able to validate their designs and ensure constructability.” But while AI is still an open question for many design industry leaders, there are some ways it has been largely embraced. According to the report, 39% of industry leaders say they are using AI to be more sustainable in their business practices, up from 34% in 2024 and 26% in 2023. [Image: Autodesk] The global economy is another overarching theme in the report, with many industries expressing concern and uncertainty. The architecture industry stands out, with leaders from the field predicting dark times ahead. Last year, 74% of architecture leaders reported that they were well prepared for unforeseen future changes in the global economy. This year that number has dropped to 46%, the steepest decline among all industries surveyed. The number of architecture leaders who see the global landscape as more uncertain than three years ago has risen from 35% to 57%. Just 55% of leaders in the architecture sector say they will increase investments in the next three years, a 28% decline from 2024. This design industry outlook may feel a bit like a knee-jerk reaction to the tumultuous economic conditions that have emerged in the early months of the Trump administration, but industry leaders were seeing these clouds on the horizon long before. The quantitative data that the report is based on was collected between May and August of last year. “The uncertainty in the industry is real, but so is the opportunity for architects to shape a future thats more efficient, sustainable, and human centered. And AI is the tool to help us get there,” Amour says.
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