Nvidia, AMD’s AI Chip Exports Face New Global Limits by White House

The US stopped selling Nvidia and AMD’s advanced AI chips to China last year. They also put export limits on 40 other countries.

Bloomberg reported on Monday that the Biden administration has talked behind closed doors about limiting the sale of advanced AI chips from Nvidia and AMD to some Persian Gulf countries for reasons of national security. Some countries, like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are spending a lot on AI data centers might not be able to get export licenses anymore because of the rule.

The White House sees American AI chips as a major edge on the world stage more and more. The US stopped selling Nvidia and AMD’s advanced AI chips to China last year. They also put export limits on 40 other countries around the world to make it harder for AI chips to get to China in other ways.

The most recent reports of talks could mean that U.S. leaders are worried about how the Persian Gulf affects the AI business around the world. Saudi Arabia apparently planned to start a $40 billion fund this year to invest in AI technology. At the same time, OpenAI was said to have been in talks with an investment fund backed by the UAE about joining its most recent $6.6 billion funding round.