Nvidia to launch in Middle East amid U.S. curbs on AI exports to region, Ooredoo CEO says

Ooredoo CEO, Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, sits in his office during an interview with Reuters in Doha, Qatar June 4, 2024. REUTERS/Arafat Barbakh

DOHA (Reuters) - Nvidia has signed a deal to deploy its artificial intelligence technology at data centres owned by Qatari telecoms group Ooredoo in five Middle Eastern countries, Ooredoo's CEO told Reuters.

The agreement marks Nvidia's first large-scale launch in a region to which Washington has curbed the export of sophisticated U.S. chips to stop Chinese firms from using Middle Eastern countries as a back door to access the newest AI technology.