US Approves $1 Billion AI Chip Export Deal to Gulf Nations in Strategic Pivot

US Reaches AI Chip Sale Agreement With G42 in Win for UAE Firm

The US has approved sales of tens of thousands of advanced AI semiconductors to the Emirati AI firm G42 and regional rival Humain of Saudi Arabia, in a major boost for both Gulf nations' ambitions to become formidable players in the technology. Each company is slated to receive AI chips with the computing power equivalent to 35,000 GB300 processors from Nvidia Corp., the chipmaker's most advanced offering, according to the Commerce Department. The deal is contingent on both companies meeting "rigorous security and reporting requirements," the agency said Wednesday, confirming earlier Bloomberg News reporting.

U.S. greenlights AI chip exports to Gulf tech giants after Saudi Crown Prince's Washington visit

The U.S. has approved sales of advanced Nvidia chips to Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN and the United Arab Emirates' G42, authorizing the state-backed firms to buy up to 35,000 chips, worth an estimated $1 billion. The approval of these chip exports marks a major reversal for the U.S., which had previously balked at the idea of direct exports to state-backed AI companies in the Gulf. Export controls were put into place to avoid advanced American technology making its way to China through the back door of Gulf Arab states. Before former President Joe Biden left office in January, he administered a final round of export restrictions on advanced AI chips, targeting companies like Nvidia, in a sweeping effort to keep that cutting-edge U.S. intellectual property out of China's reach. Now, President Donald Trump is moving to expand the reach of such advanced technology in order to "promote continued American AI dominance and global technological leadership," the U.S. Commerce Department said in a statement published on Wednesday. The U.S. Commerce Department approved the chip exports, with the condition the state-backed AI outfits agree to "rigorous security and reporting requirements," overseen by the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security.

The Middle East is AI's geopolitical test

Why it matters: Allowing these deals is part of a strategic effort to ensure Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East adopt U.S. technology rather than AI systems from China. Driving the news: Tech companies used Wednesday's U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum and this week's D.C. visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to announce a host of new projects with Humain -- a Saudi AI and infrastructure developer backed by the country's Public Investment Fund. * xAI: Elon Musk's company has signed a "framework agreement" to build low-cost GPU data centers with Humain in Saudi Arabia and deploy Grok models throughout the country * AMD and Cisco: Humain is working jointly with AMD and Cisco to deliver up to 1 gigawatt of AI infrastructure by 2030. * Nvidia: Humain will deploy up to 600,000 Nvidia GPUs across Saudi Arabia and the U.S. over three years, including work focused on physical AI as well as Arabic language AI. * Qualcomm: The chip maker is making a renewed push for a role in the data center and its work with Humain is a key piece. On Wednesday Qualcomm said it will create an AI engineering center with Humain in Riyadh as part of a broader partnership to deploy 200 megawatts of data center capacity. * Amazon Web Services: Humain and AWS will deploy up to 150,000 AI accelerators for an "AI Zone" in Riyadh. * Adobe: Humain is working with Adobe to create culturally aware AI models, particularly for Arabic speakers, making use of Qualcomm's data center products. Between the lines: The region's significant energy capacity is a huge draw for U.S. companies looking to rapidly build out AI infrastructure. * "Given constraints on U.S. energy supplies that are likely to create serious bottlenecks in domestic AI data center buildouts, the Middle East has emerged as a key technology hub that will help bridge a 3-5 year period when US energy supplies are likely to be significantly constrained," Paul Triolo, partner and global AI policy lead at business diplomacy consultancy Albright Stonebridge Group, told Axios. The other side: Saudi Arabia, like the United Arab Emirates, is trying to diversify its economy beyond fossil fuels. * The Saudi government last year targeted $40 billion in AI investments as part of its Vision 2030 plan, while the UAE has been backing its homegrown G42 effort. The G42 project initially had ties to China, but more recently has shifted to partnerships with U.S. companies, including Microsoft and OpenAI. * "Both countries are investing massively in AI and looking to use their deep pockets and ability to rapidly build new electrical infrastructure to attract a major share of the booming market in AI data center construction," Greg Allen, senior advisor at the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center policy think tank, told Axios. Yes, but: The U.S. is expected to impose strict controls to ensure AI hardware sold in the region doesn't reach China or Russia, Triolo said. * Some China hawks still worry that these massive Middle East deals could pose a risk. * Meanwhile, Triolo said the issue is also sensitive for both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which both maintain close ties to Beijing, and rely on telecommunications infrastructure built by Huawei and other Chinese firms. The bottom line: With tens of billions flowing into AI infrastructure, the Middle East is emerging as a critical bridge and a geopolitical test for U.S. tech companies.

U.S. approves sale of 70,000 AI chips to UAE and Saudi Arabia, WSJ reports By Investing.com

Investing.com -- The U.S. Commerce Department plans to approve the sale of up to 70,000 advanced artificial-intelligence chips to companies in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, marking a significant development for these Middle Eastern nations in the AI sector, The Wall Street Journal reported. The approval represents a policy shift from earlier this year when some administration officials had rejected exporting directly to state-backed companies due to security concerns. Under the deal, U.S. companies will be permitted to sell up to 35,000 of NVIDIA Corporation's (NASDAQ:NVDA) GB300 servers or equivalent products to G42, a state-run AI company based in Abu Dhabi, and Humain, a Saudi government-backed AI venture. The GB300 server contains Nvidia's Blackwell B300 processor, an advanced chip. Nvidia's competitor Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) has already established a separate agreement worth billions of dollars to work with Humain. The approvals come following discussions between President Trump and leaders of both countries. Trump has been in talks about chip access since his visit to the region in May, with conversations continuing this week with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The agreements include security provisions designed to prevent the chips from benefiting China and tech company Huawei.