Middle East, explained.
US President Donald Trump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman this month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Daniel Torok/Official White House Photo)
The US President’s regional tour also signalled an effort to peel back growing regional connections to Chinese tech companies.
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Trump’s Gulf AI gambit to reshape the Middle East tech landscapeTrump’s Gulf AI gambit to reshape the Middle East tech landscape
While the world watched Donald Trump’s high-profile visit to the Middle East alongside Silicon Valley’s biggest names, only a few would have anticipated that one of the most consequential tech deals would emerge – positioning the Gulf states as a new epicenter for AI.
The US President’s trip to Saudi Arabia and the UAE culminated with two-way investments worth billions of dollars. Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a regional AI leader by developing Arabic-language models to capture the underserved Middle Eastern market, while its National Strategy for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA) aims to transform the kingdom into a global AI powerhouse by 2030 through targeted investments, regulatory reforms, and large-scale talent development.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced that the company will sell over 18,000 of its advanced GB300 Blackwell AI chips to Saudi Arabia’s Humain, a sovereign AI initiative backed by the Public Investment Fund, during a US-led investment forum in Riyadh. The chips will power 500 megawatts of AI data centres in the kingdom, marking a major step in Saudi Arabia’s US$10 billion push to build domestic AI infrastructure and develop its own AI models. The deal also allows Saudi and Emirati companies to acquire more than a million advanced H-100 chips by 2027, ultimately preparing these companies to build frontier-scale data centres and AI training clusters.
A future US administration could change its regulatory approaches for AI partnerships or introduce export control measures.
The recent deals reflect the Gulf states’ vision to leverage cutting-edge tech collaborations with the United States to accelerate domestic reforms and position themselves as global leaders in the digital economy. Saudi Arabia has already become the largest digital economy in the Middle East and North Africa, with a market value exceeding $131.9 billion. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and Abu Dhabi’s Vision 2030 domestic reform programs both prioritise AI and big tech as essential catalysts for economic diversification and long-term growth.
Trump’s return to office presents a window of opportunity for these countries to secure advantageous deals. The US will also benefit in terms of securing partnerships as a bulwark against China’s rising AI capabilities. Besides, these deals will expand the businesses of US big tech firms significantly in the Middle East – a market that is set to grow exponentially in the coming years.
Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Daniel Torok/Official White House Photo)
In recent times the Gulf states have deepened their technological and economic engagements with China, including collaboration on 5G infrastructure, AI research, and joint investment ventures. The growing connections to Beijing have raised concerns in Washington. Trump’s approach to the Gulf states aims to secure US dominance in global AI by providing partners with cutting-edge hardware. He is signalling an intent to replace Biden-era export restrictions with more flexible regulatory measures.
Despite the economic gains, this approach by the United States raises two significant long-term implications. First, the absence of a comprehensive verification mechanism could increase the general risk of advanced AI technologies being inadvertently accessed by America’s competitors. Although there have been reports indicating Abu Dhabi-based AI development company G42’s divestment from certain Chinese partnerships in the past year owing to US concerns, several tech firms in the region continue to maintain working relationships with global players, including Chinese firms.
Second, for countries aiming to become key players in the global AI value chain, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, relying solely on a US-centric AI ecosystem could pose constraints. A future US administration could change its regulatory approaches for AI partnerships or introduce export control measures. Nevertheless, for the US, particularly for the Trump administration, which places a greater emphasis on economic interests, Gulf-based companies such as G42, Core42, DataVolt, and Humain are expected to remain important and reliable partners.
As the role of Gulf states expands in AI partnerships, it becomes essential to ensure that cross-border cooperation in data and chip infrastructure is accompanied by clear governance standards. Establishing robust, transparent safeguards with the support of the host governments will be key to ensuring long-term trust and resilience in the global AI ecosystem.
About the authors
Nadeem Ahmed Moonakal
Nadeem Ahmed Moonakal is a research scholar at Rasanah: International Institute for Iranian Studies, Riyadh.
Megha Shrivastava
Megha Shrivastava is a Ministry of Foreign Affairs RoC (Taiwan) Fellow and a PhD Candidate at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Institute of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (IoE), India.
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