The U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday (November 19, 2025) it has authorised the export of advanced artificial intelligence chips, the equivalent of up to 35,000 NVIDIA Blackwell chips, to two companies in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The two companies are G42, which is a state-run AI company based in Abu Dhabi, and Humain, which is a Saudi government-backed AI venture.

“Both companies are receiving approvals to purchase the equivalent of up to 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips (GB300s),” the Commerce Department said in a statement. A total of 35,000 Blackwell’s are worth an estimated $1 billion, but prices vary.

“The approvals are conditioned on both companies meeting rigorous security and reporting requirements,” the Commerce Department said.

Earlier in the day Humain, a government-backed Saudi AI firm, said it planned to purchase of 6,00,000 Nvidia AI chips by HUMAIN.

HUMAIN and Elon Musk’s xAI plan to jointly develop data centres in Saudi Arabia, including a 500 megawatt facility.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday (November 19, 2025) he was designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, as he hosted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a gala dinner at the White House.

“Tonight, I’m pleased to announce that we’re taking our military cooperation to even greater heights by formally designating Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO ally, which is something that is very important to them,” Mr. Trump said.

“And I’m just telling you now for the first time, because they wanted to keep a little secret for tonight,” Mr. Trump said of the designation, which only 19 other countries have previously received.

The heir to the throne, earlier, delighted Mr. Trump by announcing that he was increasing the $600 billion Saudi investment he promised Mr. Trump when the U.S. president visited the country in May.

“We can announce that we are going to increase that $600 billion to almost $1 trillion for investment,” Prince Mohammed said in the Oval Office.

A grinning Mr. Trump asked him to confirm the figure, to which the Saudi royal replied: “Definitely.”

The grand welcome

Mr. Trump pulled out all the stops for the Saudi Prince, giving him treatment normally reserved for a state visit to the White House, despite the fact that he is not a head of state.

He welcomed the Prince — who is widely known as MBS — on the South Lawn of the White House as cannon fire boomed out, before they watched the noisy flypast by U.S. military jets.

The 79-year-old Republican then showed the prince a new gallery of presidential portraits by the Rose Garden — including one portraying his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden as an autopen.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be at the White House on November 18, 2025, for an official working visit with U.S. President Donald Trump, a White House official said on Monday (November 3, 2025).

The visit comes as Mr. Trump pushes Saudi Arabia to join the list of nations that have joined the Abraham Accords. In 2020, Mr. Trump reached deals with United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco to normalize relations with Israel.

The Saudis have been hesitant to join in the absence of steps toward Palestinian statehood.

Mr. Trump told CBS’ “60 Minutes” in an interview broadcast on Sunday (November 2) that he believed the Saudis would ultimately join the accords.

Mr. Trump and Prince bin Salman may also discuss a U.S.-Saudi defense agreement. The Financial Times reported two weeks ago that there were hopes the two countries could sign such an agreement during Prince bin Salman’s visit.

A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that “there are discussions about signing something when the crown prince comes, but details are in flux.”

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The Saudis have sought formal U.S. guarantees to defend the kingdom as well as access to more advanced U.S. weaponry.

Saudi Arabia is one of the largest customers for U.S. arms, and the two countries have maintained strong ties for decades based on an arrangement in which the kingdom delivers oil and Washington provides security.

During Mr. Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May, the United States agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion.