 The Global Gulf |
 October 22, 2026 |
Shipments of advanced US computer chips to Gulf companies are being held up by investment negotiations, regulatory hurdles, infrastructure limits and Washington’s worries about technology reaching China, analysts have said.
Approved a Year Ago, Still Arriving
The US Commerce Department authorised the shipment of 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips to G42 in the UAE and Humain in Saudi Arabia a year ago. Both companies have received some of their allotted units, but not all.
Humain received the first shipment of the latest Nvidia chips at the end of December last year, according to CEO Tareq Amin, who wrote about it in a LinkedIn post. The UAE saw its first batch in May, according to Emirati ambassador to Washington Yousef Al Otaiba. Neither announcement gave the number of chips delivered or a timeline for future transfers.
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which oversees export controls, also eased restrictions on chip sales to the UAE in July. Industry watchers speaking in Washington this week said the effects of that move are still unfolding.
Waiting on Investment Pledges
Nazak Nikakhtar, an international trade and national security partner at Wiley Rein who held senior roles in the first Trump administration, said some chips have gone and some have not “because I think the Commerce Department is still waiting.”
She pointed to pledges by the UAE and Saudi Arabia to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the US, which have only partly materialised so far. American officials are also working to make sure recipients adopt the security and regulatory measures Washington demanded as a condition for approving the transfers. “They’re pretty onerous, so I think there’s a lot of policy and negotiations going on,” she said at an event hosted by the Middle East Institute (MEI).
Limits on the Gulf Side
Analysts at the MEI event said the Gulf states’ limited ability to deploy the chips quickly may also play a part, along with certain caveats attached to the easing of rules for the UAE.
In July, BIS moved the Emirates into the A:5 group of US allies and partners that enjoy the easiest access to American technology. Nikakhtar said it is still too early to judge the practical impact because the UAE’s industry is still developing. “I would predict some slowness right now while the UAE builds that supporting infrastructure for the use of those chips,” she said.
A Deadline and a Governance Question
BIS has facilitated direct purchases by G42 and its cloud and infrastructure arm Core42 only until April 6, 2027. The deadline can be extended, or the companies can move their headquarters to the US.
Mohammed Soliman, a senior fellow at MEI, said officials are working through those details and settling the governing structure of the two UAE companies.
Concerns About China
The delays come as the US and China compete to embed their technology infrastructure around the world while trying to stop each other from copying it. Nikakhtar said many people in the US government remain very worried about the UAE’s collaboration with China, and “kind of wish this had never happened.”
A Possible Side Effect
Ruth Berry, who leads global policy at Nvidia and is a former State Department official, warned that dragging out deliveries could unintentionally make Chinese alternatives more attractive. She called for consistency and clear rules, focused on what is core to US national security rather than what is useful as leverage. “It does come at a cost,” she said.
What to Watch
Several points will shape the months ahead. How many chips arrive, and how fast? Will G42 and Core42 settle their governance structure before the April 2027 deadline? Will Gulf investment pledges in the US move forward? And will Washington’s approach become more predictable?
For Gulf governments, the delays slow ambitious plans to build computing capacity. For Washington, the challenge is balancing security worries against the risk of pushing partners toward rivals. The outcome will help decide whose technology powers the Gulf’s next wave of growth.
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