Overview

• The Trump administration struck multibillion-dollar AI deals with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, including the export of up to 500,000 Nvidia chips annually to the UAE and 18,000 chips to Saudi Arabia for a new data center.
• The UAE will host the largest AI data center outside the U.S., spanning 10 square miles in Abu Dhabi, while Saudi Arabia will build a 500-megawatt AI facility through its startup, Humain.
• Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and Sen. Chuck Schumer, warn the deals lack sufficient safeguards to prevent advanced U.S. AI chips from reaching China through Gulf partners.
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and White House AI advisor David Sacks defend the agreements as strategic moves to maintain U.S. dominance in AI and counter China's influence.
• The Commerce Department asserts the deals will meet robust U.S. security standards, and the administration is drafting a new export policy to replace rescinded Biden-era restrictions.