Despite the continuing conflict with Iran, Gulf countries have not abandoned their AI ambitions, and demand for the infrastructure needed to develop the technology remains strong, a senior Nvidia official said on Wednesday.
“The imperatives these countries see have not changed, they still see it as an opportunity to diversify their economies,” Ruth Berry, who leads global policy on Nvidia’s government affairs team, said during a discussion at the Washington-based Middle East Institute.
“Infrastructure is really sticky,” she added, referring to continued global demand for Nvidia’s graphics processing units (GPUs), which power much of today’s AI infrastructure.
Ms Berry said countries in the region continue to have a "clear vision for where they want to go on AI", which bodes well for future plans.
The UAE, which has developed several investment partnerships with the US technology giant, is among the countries pressing ahead.
In May, the first shipments of Nvidia's highly sought CPUs and GPUs arrived in the UAE, the country's ambassador announced.
In recent years, the UAE has sought to buy and use Nvidia's chips for its AI plans. Stringent export controls aimed at protecting the US lead in AI made such purchases difficult.
Washington eventually approved the shipments after the UAE provided security assurances intended to prevent the chips from being accessed by unauthorised parties.
But the Iran conflict has raised questions about the Gulf's growing AI infrastructure, particularly after Iranian attacks in the region.
Mohammed Soliman, a technology analyst and senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said that the threat of conflict could have an inverse effect, causing countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia to increase their AI investments.
Mr Soliman said that Ukraine's ability to withstand Russia's invasion for more than four years could largely be attributed to Ukraine's AI investments and innovations. The country has used AI to improve drone strikes, troop logistics and other facets of battle.
"Without AI, Ukraine would have lost the war … war is a function of compute," he said.
Governments throughout the Middle East, Mr Soliman continued, have taken note of that.
"Building AI compute is essential to defending against Iranian aggression," he said.
The discussion largely focused on whether US AI technology products would remain influential throughout the Middle East. Mr Soliman said it and China were the two major contenders in this area.
He said the recent attacks from Iran would count when it comes to buying decisions, working in favour of the US.
"It's been widely reported that China has assisted Iran," Mr Soliman said.
He said that the Middle East remains incredibly appealing to the US companies and government as the race for AI dominance heats up.
He also said that countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia have an abundance of energy, which is a significant AI prerequisite, along with a geographic advantage.
"You need a nearby compute hub that's capable of supporting multiple markets," he said. "They're able to make a financial bet on this infrastructure."
Nazak Nikakhtar, an international trade and national security lawyer, said China what could have an advantage in the race against the US.
"They're really fast," she said, referring to the speed at which decisions are made in Beijing at the highest levels of government.