Donald Trump, chips, and digital oil: how the relationship with Saudi Arabia is being reinvented
Why the former president took Silicon Valley to the Gulf and what this means for the future of artificial intelligence
A tour with more chips than diplomacy
The recent visit of Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates was not a traditional diplomatic trip. No multilateral summits or photos with handshakes. The trip was, in essence, a major business operation. An operation that mixed cutting-edge technology, strategic interests, and old financial ties.
The centerpiece of the tour was the agreement to export hundreds of thousands of advanced chips from Nvidia and AMD to the Gulf, a pact aimed at transforming the region—traditionally oil-based—into a power hub in artificial intelligence (AI). According to involved sources, this is one of the largest moves in the chip industry outside the U.S.
The megaproject: AI in the desert
From Abu Dhabi, the creation of a new artificial intelligence campus backed by 5 gigawatts of electrical power was announced, intended to house one of the largest data centers on the planet. The local company G42, chaired by the influential Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will absorb approximately 100,000 of these chips, while the rest will be distributed among U.S. cloud service providers.
The stated goal: to expand U.S. AI technology into Africa, Asia, and Europe. In other words, to open new markets while strengthening the presence of American companies in a region with resources and ambition.
Is Silicon Valley moving to the Gulf?
At the same time, Saudi Arabia is negotiating another multimillion-dollar deal to acquire U.S. AI technology. Sam Altman (OpenAI), Jensen Huang (Nvidia), and other heavyweights in the industry have been involved in the talks, alongside Trump administration envoys: David Sacks and Sriram Krishnan, known for their backgrounds as venture capital investors in the tech ecosystem.
From the administration, it is insisted that the goal is to maintain U.S. global leadership in AI. “We want U.S. AI to spread”, declared Krishnan.
However, doubts have begun to surface in Washington. Is Trump outsourcing the technological future to an authoritarian region for economic ties? And what guarantees are there that the technology won’t end up benefiting China?
Double discourse, geopolitical dilemmas
The shift does not go unnoticed. Trump has criticized the offshoring of industries repeatedly and imposed tariffs to promote domestic production. However, on his first international trip of this new political cycle, he is promoting agreements that export strategic infrastructure and favor foreign investment.
This creates tension within the administration itself. While some see the initiative as a bold move to extend U.S. technological dominance, others warn of the risk of losing control over a key industry for national security. AI is not a video game: it can also be used to coordinate armies, build autonomous weapons, or intervene in critical systems.
Between business and geostrategy
Past actions also fuel the controversy. It has been revealed that companies linked to Trump received over $2 billion from the Middle East, including investments in his cryptocurrency and even plans for a new presidential plane financed by Qatar.
Klon Kitchen, from the American Enterprise Institute, summarized the dilemma: “In foreign policy, there are no solutions, only trade-offs”. And this seems to be one of those decisions with long-term consequences.
The Biden administration, before Trump, rejected a nearly identical plan proposed by the Emirates. The reason: to avoid transferring sensitive jobs and technology to a region with close ties to China. But now, with Trump back, pragmatism (or opportunism) seems to have taken the reins.
Controlled export or backdoor?
To mitigate concerns, the agreements include a series of security conditions: the U.S. will be able to monitor where the chips are and how they are used. Additionally, a scheme of reciprocity was negotiated: for every data center built in the Middle East, there will be a proportional investment in U.S. territory.
The government also announced the creation of a joint task force with the Emirates to facilitate investment in the U.S., in an attempt to balance the equation.
But nothing is definitive. Many details remain unspecified, and it remains to be seen whether these licenses and control mechanisms will be sufficient to contain the emerging power of these new tech powers.
A bet with an open ending
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are literally buying their entry into the geopolitical board of the future. They are betting heavily on AI to diversify their economies and move away from their dependence on oil. They want to be more than financial centers or arms buyers: they want to lead the 21st century from algorithms.
Trump, for his part, seems to have found a formula that combines business, diplomacy, technology, and personal ambition. But that mix can become unstable.
What is at stake is not just a trade agreement. It is a vision of the world. And a question that continues to linger in the hallways of Washington:
Who will lead the future of artificial intelligence? And at what price?
Final notes: key points from Trump's trip to the Middle East
Multimillion-dollar agreements with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to export advanced AI chips.
Creation of a mega data campus in Abu Dhabi with U.S. technology.
Involvement of key figures in the tech sector such as Sam Altman (OpenAI) and Jensen Huang (Nvidia).
Concerns about control, security, and potential benefits for China.
Contradictions in Trump’s foreign policy between nationalist rhetoric and trade openness.
Personal economic ties of the former president with Middle Eastern investors.
Reciprocity agreement to balance investments between the Middle East and the U.S.
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