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Chips & SemiconductorsFunding|July 16, 2026, 10:38 AM
REGULATION WATCH:

US Export-Control Shift Opens UAE AI Chip Access, DCD Reports

BySendTech Times Chips & Compute DeskNewsroom-edited, source-reviewed coverage|Source: Data Center Dynamics
Newsroom brief

Data Center Dynamics reported that the US government has moved the UAE into a lower-restriction export-control category, giving UAE companies broader access to advanced AI chips from Nvidia and AMD. The account names G42 and hyperscaler data-centre projects, but it does not list chip volumes, approved licences or specific UAE projects.

Verified against source materialEdited by SendTech Times Chips & Compute Desk
US Export-Control Shift Opens UAE AI Chip Access, DCD Reports
Image source: Data Center Dynamics

A US export-control classification change gives UAE companies broader access to advanced AI chips, Data Center Dynamics reported, citing a Wall Street Journal account and a Commerce Department announcement.

The DCD account said the UAE will now be categorised alongside India, South Korea and countries in Europe for the purchase of technology, military items and energy infrastructure that could have military applications.

The country had previously been grouped with China and Yemen, according to the same account.

UAE AI Chip Access Gets Lower-Restriction Classification

Under that classification, companies such as G42 can buy advanced AI processors from Nvidia and AMD with fewer export-control barriers, the DCD account said.

Hyperscalers planning data-centre projects in the UAE would no longer need licences to export chips there under the new classification.

G42 is described in the account as an Emirati AI development holding company that funds data-centre projects in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

The company also owns regional data-centre operator Khazna.

The policy account gives the UAE chip-access story a Gulf AI infrastructure focus rather than a consumer-technology angle.

The named buyers and suppliers are tied to AI processors, data-centre export licensing and sovereign AI capacity.

G42 And MGX Appear In DCD Account

G42 chairman and controlling shareholder Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the brother of the UAE president, national security adviser and chair of MGX, according to the DCD account.

MGX is described in the same account as a backer of Stargate.

The DCD report said the Wall Street Journal account attributed lobbying for expanded US AI chip access to Tahnoun, including direct approaches to the White House after the outbreak of the war.

Data Center Dynamics also cited the WSJ account for the claim that the UAE’s backing of US actions during the conflict shaped the policy outcome.

Those claims remain limited to the DCD report and the WSJ account it cited.

The Commerce classification change is the concrete policy action in the public account; the political explanation is attributed reporting rather than a disclosed licence document.

Data-Centre Projects Still Need Project-Level Proof

The change could affect UAE AI infrastructure planning because the DCD account names both advanced AI processors and hyperscaler data-centre exports.

The account does not identify new Nvidia or AMD order volumes, named hyperscaler campuses, project budgets or chip delivery dates.

G42’s regional data-centre position is relevant because Khazna is the UAE operator named by the account, which associates G42 with data-centre projects across Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

The account gives no project-level confirmation that the new US classification immediately changes those projects, their suppliers or their capacity timelines.

The remaining public-record gaps are the full Commerce decision text, approved chip licences, specific hyperscaler projects, chip quantities and UAE processor delivery timetables.

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