Nvidia in the Gulf | Colin Powers

https://phenomenalworld.org/analysis/nvidia-in-the-gulf/

Publish Date: 2026-05-28 23:50:00

Source Domain: phenomenalworld.org

Shift in US AI Policy: In May 2025, President Donald Trump’s first overseas trip included visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. On arrival in Riyadh, Trump rescinded a Biden-era policy that had limited technology exports as a means to protect against China’s rise, adopting a more open, transactional approach to boost American market dominance.
Gulf States’ Investment in US Tech: In response to the new US policy stance, the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE pledged up to $1 trillion to US companies, securing substantial imports of advanced American AI chips like 18,000 Nvidia Blackwell servers from Saudi Arabia and 500,000 H100 chips annually from the UAE. This marked a strategic shift for the Gulf states as they began investing heavily within the tech sector.
Geoeconomic Strategy and Regional Dynamics: Historically, the Gulf states have funded Silicon Valley, which has offered little tech transfer back home. Now, they are shifting towards establishing their own advanced AI infrastructure. This change reflects a broader reevaluation of their economic and strategic positioning in a fracturing world economy.
Underlying Financial and Developmental Risks: The Gulf’s pivot to heavy AI investments involves significant risks. These include systemic financial challenges posed by the current unsustainable AI model in Silicon Valley, geopolitical instability due to US-Israeli conflicts affecting the region’s security, and internal societal impacts such as job displacement and ecological concerns due to the high energy demands of AI data centers.