Saudi Arabia anticipates and reserves 3.000 H100 chips from Nvidia to create its own ChatGP

The Prince spent U$ 120 Milions to make your own AI

September 21, 2023

Photo = Mohammad bin Salman: Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have significantly ramped up their purchases of high-performance chips from Nvidia, crucial for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) software. This action comes amidst fierce global demand for these components.

In their latest move, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), a Saudi Arabian public research institution, has acquired at least 3,000 Nvidia H100 chips, each valued at $40,000. The H100 chip was labeled by Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, as “the first computer [chip] designed for generative AI.”

Conversely, the UAE has not only secured thousands of Nvidia chips but has also introduced its own open-source language model, named Falcon, at the Technology Innovation Institute in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. The software operates similarly to ChatGPT but for the Arabic languages.

The Gulf countries' interest aligns with major tech companies' pursuit of scarce AI development chips. Chinese giants like Tencent and Alibaba have also expressed interest in purchasing these components.

Reports indicate that Nvidia plans to ship around 550,000 of its H100 chips in 2023, primarily to US tech companies.

Regarding Saudi Arabia, KAUST is expected to receive 3,000 of these specialized chips by the end of 2023. The institution is in the process of building a supercomputer, the Shaheen III, set to be operational later this year.

On the other hand, the UAE, pioneers in establishing an AI ministry in 2017, has recently launched a “Generative AI Guide” as part of their governmental commitment to technology and AI.

The lack of ethical and security parameters in the technology developed by both countries has raised concerns among human rights experts and AI leaders.

Propelled by profits from oil due to the energy price surge in the past year, both countries possess some of the world's most substantial and active investment funds.