The United States plans to approve the first batch of sales of advanced AI chips to Saudi artificial intelligence company Humain, marking a victory for the state-backed company and coinciding with a meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US President Donald Trump.
The approval is expected to be part of a broader artificial intelligence agreement between Washington and Riyadh, people familiar with the matter said. The agreement, which could be finalized as early as this week, includes the U.S. government's positive consideration of an application to export a negotiated quantity of AI chips to Saudi Arabia. Since 2023, Saudi Arabia has needed U.S. permission to make such chip purchases.
U.S. President Donald Trump (right) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meet at the White House on Tuesday
"We're working on it," Trump told reporters during a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office on Tuesday, saying the deal would involve "a certain number of chips."
A person familiar with the matter said the number of approved chips is expected to be in the tens of thousands, but declined to give further details.
The U.S. licensing deal would be a win for some of the world's largest semiconductor companies, as companies like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices seek to tap into the Middle East market. Humain CEO Tareq Amin said last month that the company plans to deploy up to 400,000 AI chips by 2030.