US Approves $1 Billion AI Chip Exports to UAE and Saudi Arabia

The U.S. Department of Commerce authorized the export of advanced artificial intelligence semiconductors to G42 in the United Arab Emirates and Humain in Saudi Arabia on November 19, 2025. The approval allows each company to purchase the equivalent of up to 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell GB300 chips, a deal valued at approximately $1 billion. These exports reverse Biden-era restrictions and align with President Donald Trump's July 2025 AI Action Plan.

For G42, the chips will accelerate the Stargate UAE project—a 1-gigawatt AI compute cluster for OpenAI—and a broader 5-gigawatt AI campus in Abu Dhabi. To maintain security, the chips will operate under a Regulated Technology Environment (RTE) framework. G42 has committed to a symmetrical infrastructure model, mirroring its UAE builds exactly within the United States to ensure trust and performance.

In Saudi Arabia, Humain will use the semiconductors to develop data centers, including a 500-megawatt facility in partnership with Elon Musk's xAI. The authorization coincided with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Washington, during which he pledged to increase Saudi investments in the U.S. to $1 trillion. President Trump additionally announced $270 billion in new bilateral business deals across finance, aerospace, and energy, while Saudi Aramco signed 17 agreements with U.S. firms exceeding $30 billion.