Huawei Technologies is exploring opportunities to export small volumes of its artificial intelligence chips to markets in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, according to a Bloomberg News report on Thursday.
The move comes as the Chinese tech giant seeks to expand its presence in regions where U.S. chipmaker Nvidia currently holds a dominant position.The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said Huawei has approached potential buyers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand to sell its older-generation Ascend 910B AI chips.
These chips are being offered in limited quantities—reportedly in the low thousands—though the exact figures remain unclear.As per the report, no official deals have been signed yet. The UAE has shown little interest so far, while the progress of discussions in Thailand remains uncertain.
Representatives from Thailand’s government and the Saudi government’s media office have not responded to Reuters’ requests for comment. Huawei has also not issued any immediate statement on the matter.In addition to the 910B chips, Huawei is trying to draw interest from customers by offering remote access to CloudMatrix 384—a China-based AI system powered by its more advanced chips.
However, the company is not ready to export these newer chips due to limited availability, the report noted.The Middle East is becoming a fast-growing market for AI hardware, with several American tech companies, including Nvidia, announcing new deals in the region. In 2017, President Donald Trump secured $600 billion in commitments from Saudi Arabia for U.S. companies during a visit to the region.
While looking abroad, Huawei is also prioritizing the sale of its newer 910C AI chips to Chinese companies that can no longer access top-tier American chips due to export restrictions.
The U.S. government has repeatedly tightened rules to limit China’s access to cutting-edge chip technologies, expressing concerns that such tech could be used to advance Beijing’s military capabilities.
“With the current export controls, we are effectively out of the China datacenter market, which is now served only by competitors such as Huawei,” an Nvidia spokesperson said.
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