US gov’t warned Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Tim Cook, and Lisa Su that China could invade Taiwan by 2027 — Apple CEO reportedly said he sleeps ‘with one eye open’

A new investigative report from The New York Times reveals that, in July 2023, senior US intelligence officials privately briefed some of the tech industry’s most powerful executives on classified assessments regarding China and Taiwan. Among those in attendance were reportedly Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon.

According to the report, CIA Director William J. Burns and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told executives that China’s military buildup suggested Beijing could be prepared to move on Taiwan by 2027. US defense officials have publicly referenced that timeline before, but this briefing appears to have conveyed the most current classified intelligence directly to corporate leadership. For companies whose business models depend on predictable access to advanced silicon, the timeline matters. In 2021, “by 2027” sounded like a talking point from congressional testimony.