David Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount Skydance Corp., center, outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
This is CNBC's Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox. Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. One battle after another
2. DC's AI moves
Nvidia H200 chips in an eight-GPU Nvidia HGX system. Nvidia
Trump announced yesterday that Nvidia will be allowed to ship its H200 artificial intelligence chips to "approved customers" in China and other countries. The caveat: Only if the U.S. gets a 25% cut. The Department of Commerce is finalizing the details, Trump said in a social media post, adding that "the same approach will apply to AMD , Intel " and other U.S. firms. Shares of Nvidia, AMD and Intel all rose in overnight trading. Trump also said that Chinese President Xi Jinping "responded positively" to the plan. Meanwhile, House Democrats are creating a commission on AI, hoping to position themselves as leaders on the issue. As CNBC's Emily Wilkins notes, the move comes as the tech industry ramps up its presence in D.C. and its campaign spending.
3. From Llamas to Avocados
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes a keynote speech during the Meta Connect annual event, at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25, 2024. Manuel Orbegozo | Reuters
Meta has poured billions of dollars into overhauling its AI strategy. But as CNBC's Jonathan Vanian reports, the shift has led to internal confusion and a haphazard strategy. CEO Mark Zuckerberg began the year by touting Meta's Llama family of AI models, which he said would become the "most advanced in the industry." But CNBC has learned that Meta is now focused on a new AI model codenamed Avocado that could be proprietary instead of open source. Elsewhere in Big Tech, Apple has seen significant churn among its top brass in recent days, including the departures of its head of AI and its top lawyer. The iPhone maker's chip leader, Johny Srouji, reassured staff in a memo yesterday that he isn't planning to leave "anytime soon," following a report that he was considering departing.
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