The US slows down the approval of chip exports to the Middle East, causing NVIDIA and AMD stock prices to fall accordingly
The U.S. government is slowing down the issuance of licenses for exporting AI accelerators to the Middle East by chip manufacturers, and will conduct a national security review on the export of AI accelerators
According to reports, the U.S. government is currently slowing down the issuance of licenses for chip manufacturers such as NVIDIA and AMD to export accelerator chips on a large scale to the Middle East. Media cited sources familiar with the matter as saying that the Biden administration is conducting a national security review of artificial intelligence development in the region.
It is currently unclear how long this review will last, and there is no clear definition of what constitutes "large-scale exports."
AI accelerators are essential chips for enterprises and governments to build AI infrastructure, used for processing large amounts of information required for developing large language models and other AI tools in data centers. Countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are seeking to import a large number of chips for AI data centers.
In October last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce expanded chip export restrictions to include most of the Middle East, meaning that companies need to obtain special licenses from the U.S. government to ship cutting-edge semiconductors and chip manufacturing tools to countries like Saudi Arabia.
Reports indicate that in the past few weeks, U.S. officials have been delaying or not responding to license applications submitted under this regulation, in order to develop a comprehensive strategy regarding the deployment of these advanced chips overseas. Negotiations include topics such as who will manage and protect the facilities used to train artificial intelligence models.
Overnight, NVIDIA fell by 3.8%, hitting an intraday low. AMD's gains narrowed.
A representative from the U.S. Department of Commerce responded:
For the most cutting-edge technologies, we have conducted extensive due diligence through interagency processes, thoroughly reviewing license applications from applicants intending to ship these advanced technologies around the world. We remain committed to collaborating with partners in the Middle East and around the world to protect our technology ecosystem