Let’s start with 3 critical points about President Trump’s Middle East AI deals:
President Donald Trump just executed one of the most consequential economic and geopolitical moves of the decade. He has initiated a historic realignment of global capital and an enormous boost for the U.S. economy by securing over $2 trillion in artificial intelligence-driven investments from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
The new agreements enhance the current state of U.S. computing availability, propelling American AI to the next level. Additionally, they will mitigate chokepoints, including the heavy energy demands of AI data centers. This is notable, as it outweighs the potential adverse effects of U.S. tariffs, particularly in Asia. It will also finance buildouts in the United States and the Gulf, resulting in an increase in the number of GPU racks on American soil.
At the center of this initiative is the UAE’s unprecedented $1.4 trillion investment to fund a 5-gigawatt AI campus in Abu Dhabi, which will serve growing AI training and inference demands. The new data center will be the world’s largest outside the U.S., spanning 10 square miles, and will be powered with gas, nuclear, and solar power. Europe arguably dropped the ball here and lost a tremendous opportunity because of its ongoing power shortages and slow permitting processes.
The agreement reverses a Biden-era ban, allowing the UAE to import up to 500,000 Nvidia AI chips annually. (The UAE will receive only 20% of the Nvidia AI chips—the remaining portion will be allocated to American businesses.)
Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion economic package includes a massive order of AI chips from Nvidia and AMD for Humain, a KSA sovereign wealth fund-backed AI startup, along with the development of a 500-megawatt data center. Qatar’s $200 billion investment in U.S. technology and AI infrastructure is expected to accelerate growth for American startups, semiconductor firms, and AI research hubs, and to fortify America’s position as the world’s leader in AI, ahead of rival China. Overall, the Middle East becomes a major customer of U.S. technology, undermining rival China’s influence.
Finally, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh are now more closely aligned with the U.S., including on potential future security issues. The security dangers at a macro level are twofold: the diversion of GPUs to China, plus the unauthorized use of AI models by malicious actors. I believe that these risks are improbable, as the United States will likely conduct inspections of chip locations to verify they are still in the UAE. Malicious actors may have the ability to access Gulf GPUs to train harmful models. Although strict KYC regulations may be implemented as a solution, their effectiveness appears flimsy at best.
This AI cash influx may be the largest tech investment since the wartime defense buildup. The entire American AI ecosystem will benefit economically. These investments will boost U.S. chip production, semiconductor facilities, and regional economies from Silicon Valley to Phoenix to Austin, and hopefully my beloved New York City. Construction, cloud, and software development will also benefit.
Some may object to expanding commercial ties with Middle Eastern monarchies. However, global leadership often requires pragmatism. These agreements serve the long-term strategic interests of the United States, as well as diversify oil-dependent economies and stabilize key allies. In summary, this is the intelligent application of “America First.”
Marc Beckman is author of Some Future Day: How AI Is Going to Change Everything.