Nvidia to Launch in Middle East Amid U.S. AI Export Curbs, Ooredoo CEO Says

Nvidia has entered into a significant agreement to deploy its advanced artificial intelligence technology at data centers operated by Qatari telecom giant Ooredoo across five Middle Eastern countries, according to Ooredoo’s CEO in an interview with Reuters.

This move marks Nvidia’s first major foray into a region where the U.S. has restricted the export of cutting-edge chips to prevent Chinese companies from leveraging Middle Eastern nations as a conduit to access the latest AI technology.

Ooredoo will be the pioneer in the region to offer clients at its data centers in Qatar, Algeria, Tunisia, Oman, Kuwait, and the Maldives direct access to Nvidia’s AI and graphics processing technology. This development will enable Ooredoo to enhance its support for customers in deploying generative AI applications, stated Ronnie Vasishta, Nvidia’s senior vice president of telecom.

“Our B2B clients, thanks to this agreement, will have access to services that their competitors might not have for another 18 to 24 months,” Ooredoo CEO Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo told Reuters.

The financial details of the deal, signed during the TM Forum in Copenhagen on June 19, remain undisclosed. Additionally, Ooredoo has not specified the exact type of Nvidia technology to be installed, noting it will depend on availability and customer demand.

While Washington permits the export of some Nvidia technology to the Middle East, it has imposed restrictions on the export of the company’s most sophisticated chips.

Ooredoo is investing $1 billion to enhance its regional data center capacity by 20-25 additional megawatts beyond the current 40 megawatts and aims to nearly triple that capacity by the end of the decade, Fakhroo revealed.

The company has recently separated its data centers into an independent entity, following a similar strategy last year that led to the creation of the Middle East’s largest tower company in partnership with Kuwait’s Zain and Dubai’s TASC Towers Holding. Ooredoo also plans to separate its undersea cables and fiber network into distinct entities, Fakhroo added.