Microsoft may ship Nvidia chips to UAE that Donald Trump said he will not give to China; here's the 'deal'

Microsoft will reportedly be shipping Nvidia's most advanced artificial intelligence chips to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of a deal approved by the US Commerce Department.

In an announcement, the software giant said that licenses approved in September under “stringent” safeguards enable it to ship more than 60,000 Nvidia chips. This includes Nvidia's most-advanced GB300 Grace Blackwell chips, for use in data centres in the Middle Eastern country.Incidentally, these are the same AI chips that President Donald Trump said that he will not allow Nvidia to sell to China. Asked by reporters if he will allow Nvidia to sell its most advanced chips Blackwell to China, Trump said he wouldn't.

What Microsoft President said on shipping Nvidia AI chips

Microsoft is planning to spend more than $7.9 billion on data centers, cloud computing and employees in UAE over the next four years. Microsoft president Brad Smith announced the commitment in Abu Dhabi. The pledge includes plans to nearly triple the amount of Nvidia advanced chips Microsoft will operate in the nation.Updated licences granted in September allow Microsoft to "ship the equivalent of 60,400 additional A100 chips ...

involving Nvidia's even more advanced GB300 GPUs." Microsoft said that it received US government licenses to ship AI chips to the UAE in September after meeting security criteria. “They’re not just acts of faith,” Smith said. “We had to satisfy very strict conditions about the cybersecurity, the physical security, the other security protection of these chips to ensure that they stay under our control.

”Smith added, "We're using these GPUs to provide access to advanced AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, open-source providers and Microsoft itself."

Microsoft expanding investment in UAE

Microsoft is strengthening its role in the United Arab Emirates’ drive to diversify its economy beyond oil, emerging as a key partner in the country’s ambitions to become a regional hub for artificial intelligence and digital innovation.In early 2024, the tech giant invested $1.5 billion in G42, an Abu Dhabi-based AI company specializing in cybersecurity, cloud computing, and space technologies. As part of the deal, Microsoft President Brad Smith joined G42’s board, underscoring the strategic nature of the partnership.G42 said it has already deployed 21,500 chips equivalent to Nvidia’s A100 GPUs in the UAE, with approval from the Biden administration. The company plans to ship an additional 60,400 chips, including units from Nvidia’s latest GB300 series, in the near future. “Those will come in months, not years,” Smith said.The partnership also aligns with OpenAI’s expanding global footprint. Earlier this year, OpenAI — backed by Microsoft — selected the UAE as the first country outside the United States to host its Stargate data center project, a key component in scaling advanced AI infrastructure.The developments highlight how U.S. technology firms are increasingly shaping the UAE’s digital transformation strategy, even as global competition over AI infrastructure and semiconductor access intensifies.