U.S. Approves Advanced Chip Sales to Middle East A.I. Giants in Major Policy Reversal

<img decoding="async" class="size-full-width wp-image-1601459" src="https://observer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/GettyImages-2246892427.jpg?quality=80&w=970" alt="US President Donald Trump, Elon Musk (L), Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (C)” width=”970″ height=”647″ data-caption=’Nvidia chips will fuel xAI’s first data center in Saudi Arabia. <span class=”media-credit”>BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images</span>’>

In a major win for the Middle East’s A.I. ambitions, the U.S. has approved the export of advanced semiconductors to two major Gulf-backed ventures. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and the United Arab Emirates’ G42 will be allowed to purchase the equivalent of up to 35,000 chips each, said the U.S. Department of Commerce yesterday (Nov. 19), in deals valued at an estimated $1 billion.

The move marks a sharp reversal from recent U.S. policies on advanced chip exports. The Biden administration attempted to curb such exports to markets in the Middle East, partly over concerns that advanced A.I. chips could be diverted to China. The Trump administration has largely undone that approach, instead pursuing deeper investment ties between the region and the U.S.

Now, Washington is clearing the way for Humain and G42 to acquire thousands of chips equivalent to Nvidia’s industry-leading Blackwell graphics processing units (GPUs). Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has been a vocal advocate for loosening semiconductor restrictions and has spent much of the past year lobbying U.S. officials to open up global exports.

The new agreements reportedly include strict provisions to ensure that advanced technology doesn’t end up in the hands of foreign adversaries. “The approvals are conditioned on both companies meeting rigorous security and reporting requirements,” said the Commerce Department in a statement, adding that it plans to “monitor compliance on an ongoing basis.”

The triumphs for Humain and G42, the former of which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, came after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman made his first trip to Washington, D.C, since 2018. During the visit, the crown prince announced plans to increase Saudi Arabia’s U.S. investments to $1 trillion, up from a $600 billion commitment made earlier this year.

A flurry of A.I. investments

The new chip approvals will aid Humain and G42 as both embark on large-scale data center projects built around an interconnected web of U.S. chipmakers, cloud computers and model developers. Humain, founded just six months ago, announced a flurry of deals this week with Amazon Web Services, AMD and Cisco to build out A.I. infrastructure across the kingdom.

One of Humain’s most notable projects is a planned 500-megawatt data center for xAI in Saudi Arabia, representing the first non-U.S. hub for the Elon Musk-led startup. Nvidia chips will power the facility, and Huang highlighted the venture during his company’s third-quarter earnings call yesterday (Nov. 19). “Because of our deep partnership with Elon and xAI, we were able to bring that opportunity to Saudi Arabia,” said the chipmaking executive.

G42 is also expanding rapidly through global A.I. partnerships. It is a central player in Stargate UAE, a forthcoming 10-square-mile data hub in Abu Dhabi involving Nvidia, OpenAI and Oracle, slated to go online next year. The company has also received a $1.5 billion investment from strategic partner Microsoft.

The Commerce Department’s approval is expected to further strengthen the UAE’s ties with the U.S., with the Gulf nation pledging to invest in America as it scales its A.I. ambitions, according to G42 Group CEO Peng Xiao. “This announcement marks a defining moment for G42 and our partners as we move from planning into execution,” he said in a statement.