UAE goes crazy for NVIDIA chips! Senior officials actively visit the US, hoping to relax AI chip procurement restrictions.

United Arab Emirates (Uaeternity) National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon is planning to visit the United States next week to seek relaxation of US export restrictions on AI chips and discuss the UAE's technology investment plans in the United States.

This visit will involve meetings with senior officials of the US government, and it is expected that the counterparts to be met will be Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, but it is still unclear whether there will be a meeting with President Trump himself.

The UAE is actively developing the AI industry, affected by US export controls.

According to Bloomberg, in recent years, the United Arab Emirates has actively invested in the AI industry, aiming to become a regional powerhouse in this field. At the same time, it has extensively built AI data training centers. However, starting from 2023, the United States has imposed high-level chip export restrictions on the United Arab Emirates, hindering its access to AI chips from chip manufacturers such as Nvidia.

The US government is currently reviewing whether to maintain the export control regulations of the Biden (Joe Biden) administration or make adjustments. AE hopes to further secure more procurement rights through this visit to support local AI technology development.

The UAE plans to increase investment in the US technology industry

During Tahnoon's visit to the United States this time, in addition to seeking AI chip supply, discussions were also held on the UAE's investment plan in the American technology industry. This includes Abu Dhabi's investment company MGX committing to invest $100 billion in AI infrastructure development, which is one of the major investment projects announced by the Trump administration in the first week after taking office in January this year.

MGX currently has total assets amounting to 1.5 trillion US dollars, led by the corporate group headed by Tahnoon, with businesses spanning asset management, AI technology, and banking. The AI company G42 is considered one of the core enterprises in the UAE's technological development. Under pressure from Washington, G42 sold its stake in China's Huawei to receive a $1.5 billion investment from the US tech giant Microsoft(. However, it remains to be seen whether this visit will announce new investment plans.

US AI chip export control framework, UAE seeks upgrade

The Biden administration significantly expanded AI chip export controls in 2023, dividing the global market into three tiers:

Level 1 ) Open (: Only for a few close allies, almost unlimited purchase of AI chips.

Level two ) restricted (: facing the strictest restrictions like China and Russia.

Level 3 ) Medium Restriction (: including AE, the maximum annual computational power equivalent to 50,000 high-end AI processors can be obtained. To obtain more quota, a specific security commitment agreement must be signed with the United States.

The UAE is dissatisfied with being classified as a third-tier country, believing that despite cooperating with US policies, it has not received enough opportunities for technical cooperation. The US AI Export Control Regulations AI Diffusion Rule will come into effect in January 2025 and officially implemented in May, triggering dissatisfaction among US technology companies including Nvidia and some allied countries, who believe that this restricts the global development of AI technology.

The UAE seeks to influence US decision-making and strengthen AI technology layout

Tahnoon's visit comes at a time when the United States is reassessing its global AI chip export control policies. This meeting is not only about the development of the UAE's own AI industry but may also influence the future direction of US technology control. Faced with the rise of Chinese AI technology and the high level of attention from Middle Eastern countries on AI infrastructure, how the United States balances between technology control and economic cooperation will become a major issue in the future.

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