This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Oct 3 – Nvidia’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) planned multibillion-dollar chip exports to the United Arab Emirates remain on hold as the White House pushes for firm investment commitments from the Gulf nation.
The Wall Street Journal reported that delays have frustrated Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and White House officials, including AI policy lead David Sacks. The proposed deal links billions in UAE investments in U.S. data centers to purchases of Nvidia’s AI chips, most of which would flow to American companies with operations in the Middle East.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has not yet cleared the exports, with officials insisting the Emiratis finalize their U.S. commitments before shipments begin. National security concerns also weigh heavily, given the UAE’s ties to China.
One option under review is a 1:1 structure, where the UAE would match at least $1 billion in U.S. investments with an equivalent purchase of Nvidia chips by year-end. However, officials stress chip payments must remain separate. Nvidia, in its turn, keeps balancing between the U.S. and Chinese chip demand.
In a trade-off between Washington’s strategic interests and commercial realities, the company, along with AMD, agreed to give the U.S. government 15% of the revenue from certain chip sales to China as part of an arrangement tied to export licences.