The United Arab Emirates is getting broader access to NVIDIA’s most advanced AI chips under a change in U.S. export policy, a shift that could reshape the Gulf state’s position in the global AI race. Previously, UAE data center operators were limited in their ability to buy H100- and B200-class processors because of U.S. concerns about the country’s AI cooperation with China. Under the new policy, UAE data center operators are expected to qualify for licenses for higher-performance computing, according to people familiar with the matter.
The change moves the UAE into a more favored tier of Washington’s export-control framework. U.S. rules for advanced chips use a combination of country caps and company-specific licenses, and the new policy treats the UAE more like a trusted partner than a monitored risk. The shift reflects an effort in Washington to deepen AI alliances in the Gulf while keeping the most advanced chips away from Chinese hands, people familiar with the policy said. Licenses, rather than blanket approvals, will still govern individual shipments, but the bar for approval has been lowered.
The background explains why the UAE was restricted in the first place. American officials worried that advanced chips shipped to the Gulf could be re-exported to China, and those concerns were sharpened by the UAE’s earlier ties with Chinese technology companies. The Abu Dhabi AI company G42 had worked with Huawei and other Chinese firms before selling off those stakes and cutting its ties, and its relationship with Washington has since been rebuilt around American partnerships, including a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft and joint work on AI infrastructure.
That rebuilding is now paying off. The UAE has positioned itself as one of the most ambitious AI markets outside the United States and China, with sovereign funds, state-backed AI companies and a government that has made AI adoption a national priority. G42 has emerged as the anchor of that strategy, building data centers and signing agreements with American cloud providers. The new export policy, people familiar with the matter said, is Washington’s acknowledgment that the UAE has moved decisively into the American camp.
The UAE’s ambitions go beyond G42. Abu Dhabi created MGX, a sovereign investment fund focused on artificial intelligence, and partnered with BlackRock, Microsoft and other investors on one of the largest AI infrastructure funds ever assembled. The country has also been courting the world’s biggest cloud companies to build capacity on its soil, and its location, stable power supply and capital have made it a candidate hub for AI data centers serving Europe, Asia and Africa.
The export change is part of a broader Washington debate about how to treat the Gulf. Saudi Arabia has pressed for similar access, and officials in Riyadh have argued that their country deserves the same treatment as its neighbor. The United States has been weighing how to balance its desire to sell chips, its need to keep China from indirect access, and its interest in binding Gulf states closer to American technology. The UAE’s new status sets a precedent that Saudi Arabia and others will point to.
Safeguards remain part of the arrangement. U.S. officials have said licenses will be conditioned on end-use checks, monitoring and agreements about where chips can be deployed and who can access them. The experience of the past few years has shown that export controls are only as strong as their enforcement, and the UAE’s compliance record will be tested as its data centers scale up. Analysts said the real risk is not the UAE itself but transshipment, the practice of moving chips through a third country to a restricted destination.
The market reaction will test how much of the policy is real. UAE companies have signed agreements with American cloud providers to build AI infrastructure, and the new licenses will determine whether those projects can use the most advanced chips or must settle for older models. NVIDIA has said Middle East demand is growing faster than most regions, and analysts said the UAE could become one of the largest markets for its data-center products outside the United States.
Apart from chips, the policy shift signals a broader alignment. The UAE has deepened its technology ties with Washington across AI, cloud computing and defense, and the export decision is one of the most concrete rewards for that alignment. Other Gulf states will read it the same way, and their own negotiations with Washington are likely to accelerate.
For Abu Dhabi, the policy change is a validation of a decade of positioning. For NVIDIA, it opens a large and well-funded market that was partly closed. For Washington, it is a test of whether trust-based export control can work: enough access to keep allies close, enough oversight to keep the most sensitive technology out of the wrong hands. The licenses will show which side of that balance wins.
