Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and several administration officials have been frustrated by delays to the AI chip company’s multi-billion-dollar deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The deal was first announced during President Donald Trump’s visit to the country, where the U.A.E. promised to invest up to a billion dollars in the U.S. in exchange for approval to purchase a billion dollars’ worth of Nvidia chips. However, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Middle Eastern nation is yet to finalize its investments — a crucial requirement for U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick before he approves Nvidia’s export licenses to the country.
UAE has been fast in jumping on the AI bandwagon, with G42, a UAE-based AI datacenter keen on getting its hands on Nvidia’s latest chips. It’s also the first to partner with OpenAI with the launch of Stargate UAE under its OpenAI for Countries global initiative.
“Sacks and Secretary Lutnick are integral to the President’s AI agenda and are working diligently to get deals done on behalf of the American people,” said White House spokesperson Kush Desai. David Sacks is the White House Special Advisor for Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, dubbed the White House AI Czar. Under his purview, the White House removed several regulations that were “burdensome” to AI development and focused on supporting the rapid innovation of American AI.
Despite all this, industry executives and administration officials see the UAE as crucial to maintaining the U.S.’ global lead in AI. With the country willing to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure, it would allow American AI hardware to scale outside of the U.S. and its western allies. Aside from that, it’s also seen as a key partner in expanding the United States’ influence in artificial intelligence and advanced tech in the region.
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