Key Points
- The U.S. has authorized the export of advanced AI chips to companies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
- The approval covers up to 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips for each of the two companies, G42 and Humain.
- The announcement coincided with a visit to the U.S. by the Saudi Crown Prince, showing U.S. support for their AI goals.
- The chips are for major data center projects, including a partnership between Humain and Elon Musk’s xAI.
The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Wednesday that it has approved the export of advanced artificial intelligence chips to two companies in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The authorization covers up to 35,000 of Nvidia’s powerful Blackwell chips for each company.
The two companies receiving the chips are G42, a state-run AI company based in Abu Dhabi, and Humain, a Saudi government-backed AI venture. Both companies have major data center projects planned in their home countries.
The announcement came during the first visit to the U.S. by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since 2018, signaling strong U.S. support for the two nations’ AI ambitions.
“Both companies are receiving approvals to purchase the equivalent of up to 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips (GB300s),” the Commerce Department said in a statement. The total value of 35,000 Blackwell chips is estimated to be around $1 billion, though prices can vary. The department also noted that the “approvals are conditioned on both companies meeting rigorous security and reporting requirements.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Humain had announced its own plans to purchase 600,000 Nvidia AI chips. Humain and Elon Musk’s xAI are planning to jointly develop data centers in Saudi Arabia, including a massive 500-megawatt facility.
Meanwhile, G42, a tech firm linked to the Emirati state, is aiming to build one of the world’s largest data center hubs in the UAE using U.S. technology. Tech giants like Nvidia, OpenAI, Cisco, and Oracle, along with Japan’s SoftBank, are working with G42 to build the first phase of this project, known as “Stargate UAE,” which is set to go online in 2026.
