During President Donald Trump's recent Middle East visit, artificial intelligence (AI) chips became a key topic of discussion. According to the latest report from The New York Times, Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE hope to obtain advanced AI chips from American companies, and the Trump administration appears open to this idea, preparing to facilitate relevant transactions.
Image credit note: Image generated by AI, provided by Midjourney
This shift contrasts sharply with the restrictive policies of the Biden administration. During the Biden era, the U.S. imposed limits on the number of AI chips that countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE could purchase due to concerns that these technologies might be transferred to China. Companies like NVIDIA and Oracle expressed dissatisfaction, and the Trump administration agreed, planning to eliminate these cumbersome restrictions in favor of a new framework allowing countries to negotiate directly for chip acquisition.
According to another Bloomberg report, an agreement between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia is imminent, which is expected to allow the kingdom to acquire more AI chips for data centers. However, concerns about the potential transfer of these technologies to China still exist. One proposed solution is to have the U.S. control the users of data centers powered by American chips.
White House "AI Czar" David Sachs mentioned on social media: "We must take proactive measures to prevent advanced semiconductors from being illegally transferred to China. But this goal should not hinder legitimate sales to other parts of the world, as long as partners comply with reasonable security conditions."
To advance this diplomatic strategy, executives from leading American technology companies including NVIDIA, AMD, Google, and OpenAI are accompanying the president on his visit or meeting with officials from Gulf states. A Bloomberg report stated that NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang is attending a conference in Riyadh and announced a deal to provide chips for Saudi Arabia's 500-megawatt data center project.
Key points:
📈 The Trump administration plans to relax export restrictions on AI chips for Saudi Arabia and the UAE to promote technological cooperation.
🤝 The new policy will allow countries to negotiate directly with the U.S. for AI chips, breaking away from the limitations of the Biden era.
🔒 The White House emphasizes preventing illegal transfers of technology to China while still seeking legitimate transactions with other nations.