The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Wednesday (November 19) that it has authorized the export of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips to two companies in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with a scale equivalent to as many as 35,000 of Nvidia’s high-end AI “Blackwell” chips.
One of these companies is the state-operated AI company G42, based in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, and the other is Humain, an AI enterprise supported by the Saudi government. Both companies have plans for large-scale data center construction projects in their respective countries.
The announcement by the U.S. Department of Commerce comes at a time coinciding with the first visit to the U.S. by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since 2018. This move significantly demonstrates the U.S.’s support for the AI development visions of these two countries.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, “Both companies have been authorized to purchase chips equivalent to as many as 35,000 Nvidia ‘Blackwell’ chips (GB300s).”
The total value of the 35,000 Blackwell chips is estimated to be around $1 billion, but the specific prices may vary.
The U.S. Department of Commerce stated, “The approved conditions require both companies to meet strict security requirements and reporting requirements.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Saudi company Humain announced its plans to purchase 600,000 Nvidia AI chips.
Humain, along with the AI company xAI founded by billionaire Elon Musk, plans to jointly construct a data center in Saudi Arabia, including a 500-megawatt facility.
The UAE referred to this decision as another milestone in its partnership with the U.S.
Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the U.S., stated, “This authorization comes after continued engagement between the two governments, reflecting our trust in strengthening cooperation in advanced technology and national security.”
G42 in the UAE is driving the development of the country’s AI industry and intends to leverage U.S. technology to build one of the largest data centers in the world in the UAE.
Tech giants such as Nvidia, OpenAI, Cisco, Oracle, and SoftBank in Japan are collaborating with G42 to support the first phase project “Stargate UAE” in constructing the data center, which is expected to be operational by 2026.
(This article referenced reports from Reuters)