After implementing export restrictions on AI chips to China, the US is making a similar move, but this time to the Middle East.
According to the latest report, the recent policy will affect both Nvidia and AMD chips, often used in machine-learning processes.
US Government Bans Sales of AI Chips in Middle East
In a report by The Guardian, Nvidia says that the recent US chip curb won't have an "immediate material impact." It is not mentioned in the article what Middle Eastern nations are affected by the export restrictions.
"During the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, the USG (US government) informed us of an additional licensing requirement for a subset of A100 and H100 products destined to certain customers and other regions, including some countries in the Middle East," Nvidia says.
The controversial ban on AI chips, particularly A100 and H100 processors, has previously reached Russia and China.
The tech war between the US and Beijing even intensified the trade restrictions. With that, the Biden administration believes that limiting China's ability to develop chips will slow down its AI development.
US Officials Think China Will Use AI Chips For 'Military Purpose'
Back in August 2022, US officials informed Nvidia that the chip curb to China would roll out in what seemed to be its "biggest move" to curtail the latter's effort to use them for military purposes.
Two months later, Washington officially announced that it would stop exporting processors to the East Asian nation. It restricted the manufacturing of semiconductors to just US-based equipment.
Because China can turn the tide regarding AI advancement, US officials thought that barring the country from selling chips wouldn't allow it to create its own processors.
Since Nvidia won't be able to deliver chips to China, Beijing needs to look for a local company to produce the kind of chips it needs for computing and other tasks.
In a report by the Financial Times, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that the US's decision to restrict chip exports to China will leave "enormous" damage to the tech industry.
"If [China] can't buy from ... the United States, they'll just build it themselves. So the US has to be careful. China is a very important market for the technology industry," Huang added.
In late 2022, Tech Times reported that Vietnam and India could be potential chipmaking markets in place of China.
According to some chipmakers, these two countries are ideal for production since they are unaffected by the ongoing export policies of the US.
Amid geopolitical issues, Vietnam has a 30 to 40% chance of becoming a chipmaking region in Southeast Asia. At that time, COVID-19 lockdowns have been slowing down the manufacturing of semiconductors in other countries outside SEA.
