US officials extend export curbs on Nvidia AI chip to ‘some Middle Eastern countries’

U.S. regulators have told AI chip maker Nvidia and its rival AMD to curb exports of high-level semiconductor chips used to develop AI to certain Middle Eastern countries.

Regulators in the United States have asked Nvidia to curb exports of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to “some Middle East countries,” according to its latest quarterly report. 

In the report released on Aug. 28, the company said the new regulations affect its A100 and H100 chips, which help enhance the speed of machine-learning tasks. Nvidia did not specify what countries in the Middle East are impacted.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a direct competitor of Nvidia, was also given a letter by U.S. regulators requesting the same ban on high-level AI chip exports to some Middle Eastern countries, according to a Reuters report.

The quarterly report from Nvidia states that the new regulatory filing would not have an “immediate material impact” on its business, nor does it make up a “meaningful portion” of its revenue.

However, in a separate statement, it said it is working with the U.S. government to address the matter.

Related: US reportedly plans to restrict China’s access to cloud computing services

The quarterly report did mention the ongoing AI chip export regulations the U.S. government has placed on China. 

Nvidia said that past restrictions have still allowed them to sell alternative products in China, including their less powerful A800 or H800 chips.

However, the company warned that long-term results could be “harmed” if it is “effectively excluded from all or part of China.” Of its $13.5 billion in sales from the recent fiscal quarter ending on July 30, the majority came from the U.S., China and Taiwan, and about 13.9% came from other countries combined.

Initial export controls were implemented in October 2022 by the Biden administration in an effort to isolate China from powerful semiconductor chips.

On June 29, officials in Washington said they are considering tightening restrictions on AI chip exports to China even further and limiting the computing power of chips to stunt the flow of chip availability in the Chinese market.

In response to the measures taken by the U.S., the Chinese government said it will control the export of gallium and germanium products, which are primary components to produce AI chips.

AI-related regulations and restrictions coming from the U.S. have caused other countries to consider their own position in the race to develop powerful systems.

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