Nvidia to Supply 18,000 AI GPUs to Saudi Arabia as Export Restrictions Are Relaxed

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has announced that the company will send 18,000 AI GPUs to Saudi Arabia’s state-sponsored AI company, Humain, following the cancellation of pending U.S. AI diffusion export rules.

Bloomberg reports that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced on Tuesday that the company will supply 18,000 AI GPUs to Saudi Arabia’s new state-sponsored AI company, Humain. The announcement came during the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh, coinciding with President Donald Trump’s visit to the country. The semiconductors provided by Nvidia will be used to build a massive 500-megawatt data center, furthering Saudi Arabia’s ambitions in the field of artificial intelligence.

The move follows the U.S. government’s decision to rescind pending AI diffusion export rules, which would have complicated transactions of this nature. The proposed rules aimed to prevent the proliferation of AI technology to rival nations and were set to impose varying levels of restrictions on different countries. Saudi Arabia was initially listed in tier 2, which would have limited the amount of AI hardware that could be exported without strict controls.

During his remarks at the forum, Huang expressed his delight in helping celebrate the grand opening of Humain, stating that Saudi Arabia’s vision to build the AI infrastructure of the nation would allow them to participate in shaping the future of this transformative technology. He also highlighted the potential for Saudi Arabia’s rich energy stores to help Nvidia unlock new capabilities in the field of AI.

Humain, owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, was officially announced on Monday. The company aims to provide a comprehensive range of AI services, products, and tools, including next-generation data centers, AI infrastructure, cloud capabilities, and advanced AI models and solutions. Humain also promises to develop one of the world’s most powerful multimodal Arabic large language models (LLMs).

The supply of Nvidia’s AI GPUs to Humain marks a significant step forward for Saudi Arabia’s AI ambitions and highlights the country’s growing influence in the global tech landscape. Beyond concerns about Saudi Arabia itself becoming a major player in AI, it is crucial that none of the 18,000 Nvidia AI GPUs falls into the hands of China.