US Clears Path for Billions of Advanced Chips to be Sent to Middle East Giants
In a major policy reversal, the US Department of Commerce has given its approval for the export of advanced semiconductors to two major ventures backed by Gulf states. Saudi Arabia's Humain and the United Arab Emirates' G42 will now be able to purchase billions of dollars' worth of chips from Nvidia, with deals valued at an estimated $1 billion.
The move marks a significant shift away from recent US policies aimed at curbing advanced chip exports to the Middle East, largely driven by concerns that these chips could fall into Chinese hands. Instead, the Trump administration has opted for deeper investment ties between the region and the US, with the aim of strengthening economic and technological partnerships.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been instrumental in pushing for the relaxation of semiconductor restrictions, having lobbied extensively for global exports to be opened up. The new agreements are reportedly conditional on both companies adhering to strict security and reporting requirements.
The approval comes just days after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman made his first trip to Washington since 2018, during which he announced plans to increase US investments in the country to $1 trillion. This move is expected to further solidify ties between the UAE and the US, with G42's CEO Peng Xiao hailing the announcement as a "defining moment" for the company.
The two ventures will now be able to acquire thousands of chips equivalent to Nvidia's industry-leading Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs), with Humain also set to power its first data center in Saudi Arabia. The facility, which will be powered by Nvidia chips, marks an important milestone for the Elon Musk-led startup xAI.
As part of a broader push to bolster AI ambitions in the region, G42 is expanding rapidly through global partnerships and has received a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft. The company's involvement in Stargate UAE, a forthcoming 10-square-mile data hub in Abu Dhabi involving Nvidia, OpenAI, and Oracle, is also set to come online next year.
The US Commerce Department will continue to monitor compliance with the new agreements, ensuring that advanced technology does not fall into foreign adversaries' hands.
In a major policy reversal, the US Department of Commerce has given its approval for the export of advanced semiconductors to two major ventures backed by Gulf states. Saudi Arabia's Humain and the United Arab Emirates' G42 will now be able to purchase billions of dollars' worth of chips from Nvidia, with deals valued at an estimated $1 billion.
The move marks a significant shift away from recent US policies aimed at curbing advanced chip exports to the Middle East, largely driven by concerns that these chips could fall into Chinese hands. Instead, the Trump administration has opted for deeper investment ties between the region and the US, with the aim of strengthening economic and technological partnerships.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been instrumental in pushing for the relaxation of semiconductor restrictions, having lobbied extensively for global exports to be opened up. The new agreements are reportedly conditional on both companies adhering to strict security and reporting requirements.
The approval comes just days after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman made his first trip to Washington since 2018, during which he announced plans to increase US investments in the country to $1 trillion. This move is expected to further solidify ties between the UAE and the US, with G42's CEO Peng Xiao hailing the announcement as a "defining moment" for the company.
The two ventures will now be able to acquire thousands of chips equivalent to Nvidia's industry-leading Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs), with Humain also set to power its first data center in Saudi Arabia. The facility, which will be powered by Nvidia chips, marks an important milestone for the Elon Musk-led startup xAI.
As part of a broader push to bolster AI ambitions in the region, G42 is expanding rapidly through global partnerships and has received a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft. The company's involvement in Stargate UAE, a forthcoming 10-square-mile data hub in Abu Dhabi involving Nvidia, OpenAI, and Oracle, is also set to come online next year.
The US Commerce Department will continue to monitor compliance with the new agreements, ensuring that advanced technology does not fall into foreign adversaries' hands.
I'm kinda surprised they're making this move now, considering how sensitive it was like 5 years ago... guess times have changed 
. Nvidia's been pushing for this relaxation of restrictions, but still doesn't feel right to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for stronger economic ties between the US and Middle Eastern countries, but I wish they'd also been more careful about how China might react to it 
. Still, it's interesting to see what kind of innovation comes out of this deal... G42's expansion plans seem pretty ambitious 
. I thought we were trying to limit China's access to these chips but instead we're basically handing them over to our Middle Eastern friends 
. Like, I get it, $1 trillion in investments is a big deal 
and strengthening economic ties is important, but can't we be careful about this? It feels like we're playing with fire 
.
? Elon Musk is already raking in the benjamins from xAI, does he really need us to facilitate more deals for his pals 
, and now we're seeing some serious investments go down 
! And let's not forget about xAI's data center in Saudi Arabia - that's some next-level tech stuff 
. I'm hyped to see what comes out of this new collaboration 
.
Meanwhile, we're still over here stuck with ancient tech 
).
. Maybe there are some ulterior motives at play? Not sure, but I think we should keep an eye on how things unfold 
.
the us is kinda chillin on exportin chips 2 middle east giants, and nvidia's the one makin moves 
. but instead, the us is tryin to build bridges with saudi & uae 
. it's all about economic ties & technological partnerships 
Nvidia's CEO is literally getting paid to make friends with the Middle East royalty. It's like, where's the money trail, dude? $1 trillion investments and $1 billion chip deals... sounds like a sweet deal for whoever's pulling the strings 
. its all about makin more friends in the middle east 
. saudi crown prince was just in wdc and he asked 4 more invs 
& tech partnerships 
nvidia's jensen huang is a hero