(Bloomberg) -- The head of United Arab Emirates’ top artificial intelligence firm said additional US restrictions on semiconductor technology wouldn’t surprise him after a report that the Biden administration discussed caps on sales of advanced Nvidia Corp. chips to Persian Gulf countries.
“I don’t think it’s anything new,” G42 Chief Executive Officer Peng Xiao told reporters in Dubai on Tuesday. “There is a reason there are export controls in the first place. I’m not surprised that is still going.”
Washington is discussing a new approach to regulating sensitive technology by setting a ceiling on export licenses to certain countries on national security grounds, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the talks. The officials are focused on Persian Gulf countries that have a growing appetite for AI data centers, they said.
Setting country-based caps would tighten restrictions that originally targeted China’s ambitions in AI, as Washington considers the security risks of the emerging technology. The Biden administration has already limited AI chip shipments by companies like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to more than 40 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia over fears they could be diverted to China.
Abu Dhabi-based G42 is plotting a path to become the AI leader in the Middle East. The company is part of the $1.5 trillion empire of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is one of Abu Dhabi’s deputy rulers, national security adviser for the UAE and brother to its president.
G42 is deploying Nvidia’s H100 GPUs in the UAE. It’s also working with different partners to bring in more types of chips as “there’s so much innovation on the hardware front,” said Xiao.
Cerebras Systems Inc., a startup that looks to challenge Nvidia in AI computing, last month disclosed in a regulatory filing ahead of its planned initial public offering that it depends on G42 for most of its revenue.
G42 will continue to build relations with the US regardless of who wins next month’s presidential election, according to Xiao.
“In the UAE and G42 itself, we are equally comfortable to work with whoever will become the new leader of the US government,” Xiao said. “We have a clear collaboration framework on AI and technology between the two nations.”
Xiao said he was part of a government delegation to the US last month led by the Gulf country’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed for discussions with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee. The trip also included meetings with key executives of large US firms, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
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Earlier this year, G42 lined up a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft Corp. after the two worked out a deal with the US government where Xiao’s company agreed to end any cooperation with China. Last month, G42 and Nvidia announced a joint climate technology lab, marking their first partnership.
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