US Approves Export of Advanced AI Chips to UAE Under Microsoft-G42 Deal

US clears export of AI chips to UAE under Microsoft deal

Image credit: Victor J. Blue/ Getty Images The US government has approved the export of advanced artificial intelligence chips to a Microsoft-operated facility in the UAE as part of the company's highly-scrutinised partnership with Emirati AI firm G42, Axios reported on Saturday, citing two people familiar with the deal. Microsoft invested $1.5bn in G42 earlier this year, giving the US company a minority stake and a board seat. As part of the deal, G42 would use Microsoft's cloud services to run its AI applications. The deal, however, was scrutinised after US lawmakers raised concerns that G42 could transfer powerful US AI technology to China. They asked for a US assessment of G42's ties to the Chinese Communist Party, military and government before the Microsoft deal advances. The US Commerce Department and G42 did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Microsoft declined to comment on the report. The approved export license requires Microsoft to prevent access to its facility in the UAE by personnel who are from nations under US arms embargoes or who are on the US Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List, the Axios report said. The restrictions cover people physically in China, the Chinese government or personnel working for any organisation headquartered in China, the report added. US officials have said that AI systems could pose national security risks, including by making it easier to engineer chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The Biden administration in October required the makers of the largest AI systems to share details about them with the US government. G42 earlier this year said it was actively working with US partners and the UAE's government to comply with AI development and deployment standards amid concerns about its ties to China. Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company, the UAE's ruling family and U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake hold stakes in G42. Read: UAE's G42, Microsoft to build two AI centres in Abu Dhabi

US clears export of advanced AI chips to UAE under Microsoft deal, Axios says

(Reuters) -The U.S. government has approved the export of advanced artificial intelligence chips to a Microsoft-operated facility in the United Arab Emirates as part of the company's highly-scrutinized partnership with Emirati AI firm G42, Axios reported on Saturday, citing two people familiar with the deal. Microsoft invested $1.5 billion in G42 earlier this year, giving the U.S. company a minority stake and a board seat. As part of the deal, G42 would use Microsoft's cloud services to run its AI applications. The deal, however, was scrutinized after U.S. lawmakers raised concerns G42 could transfer powerful U.S. AI technology to China. They asked for a U.S. assessment of G42's ties to the Chinese Communist Party, military and government before the Microsoft deal advances. The U.S. Commerce Department, Microsoft and G42 did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The approved export license requires Microsoft to prevent access to its facility in the UAE by personnel who are from nations under U.S. arms embargoes or who are on the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List, the Axios report said. The restrictions cover people physically in China, the Chinese government or personnel working for any organization headquartered in China, the report added. U.S. officials have said that AI systems could pose national security risks, including by making it easier to engineer chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The Biden administration in October required the makers of the largest AI systems to share details about them with the U.S. government. G42 earlier this year said it was actively working with U.S. partners and the UAE's government to comply with AI development and deployment standards, amid concerns about its ties to China. Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company, the UAE's ruling family and U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake hold stakes in G42. The company's chairman, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the UAE's national security advisor and the brother of the UAE's president. (Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao)

Scoop: Advanced AI chips cleared for export to UAE under Microsoft deal

Catch up quick: Earlier this year, Microsoft said it was expanding its collaboration with G42 and investing $1.5 billion in the company. Friction point: U.S. government approval to export the advanced AI chips that are key to the Microsoft-G42 partnership was delayed over continued concerns about the technology ending up in China's hands. The UAE and China remain close economic partners in other sectors and maintain military ties. Zoom in: The approved export license requires Microsoft to prevent access to the facility by personnel who are from Group D:5 countries, which are nations with U.S. arms embargoes, or who are on the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Entity List, according to two sources familiar with the deal. Microsoft and the Commerce Department declined to comment. G42 did not respond to a request for comment. The big picture: While G42 builds its AI infrastructure in the UAE, it is training foundation models, including a bilingual Arabic-English large language model called Jais, at data centers in the U.S. through a partnership with AI chipmaker -- and Nvidia competitor -- Cerebras. What to watch: President-elect Trump's ties with Gulf states run deep, as he has continued striking business deals and engaging in diplomacy after his first term ended.