U.S. President Donald Trump signs a guest book next to United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Qasr Al Watan, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, May 15, 2025.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump has announced that the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates are strategizing to facilitate Abu Dhabi’s acquisition of cutting-edge American semiconductors to support its artificial intelligence initiatives.
During his visit to the Emirati capital, Trump stated, “Recently, both nations agreed to establish a framework enabling the UAE to purchase some of the most advanced AI semiconductors available from American manufacturers. This represents a significant contract.” He made these remarks at the U.S.-UAE Business Council breakfast, part of his four-day tour in the Middle East.
The significant contract might relate to a preliminary deal allowing the UAE to import up to 500,000 Nvidia H100 chips annually, which are among the most sophisticated products made by the company. This development would enhance the UAE’s capacity to construct data centers necessary for their AI infrastructure.
In recent years, the UAE has made substantial investments in its AI infrastructure with ambitions to position itself as a leading hub for technology. A key component of this vision involves U.S. semiconductors, which have not yet been supplied to Gulf allies due to national security issues.
This situation could shift, as the Trump administration intends to overturn a regulation established during Biden’s presidency that enforced rigorous export restrictions on advanced AI chips, even for allied nations.
However, experienced security experts and lawmakers, as well as reportedly some figures within the Trump administration, have raised alarms that lifting these restrictions might allow sensitive U.S. technologies to fall into the hands of competitors such as China.
Trump’s statements came just a day after the White House disclosed plans for a partnership with the UAE to develop an extensive artificial intelligence campus in Abu Dhabi, which is set to be the largest facility of its kind outside the United States.
This data center will be constructed by the Emirati tech company G42, which will collaborate with various U.S. firms, as mentioned by the Department of Commerce. The center is expected to operate at a capacity of 5 gigawatts and will span over 10 square miles.
The specific U.S. companies involved in this project have not been revealed. Trump was accompanied on his trip to the Middle East by several top executives from American technology firms, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, and Cisco President Jeetu Patel.