UAE can guarantee the ‘safety and the security’ of chips, G42 CEO says

The CEO of the United Arab Emirates’ premier AI firm stressed that the Gulf country is a reliable partner to the U.S. when it comes to keeping sensitive technology safe, as Washington reportedly mulls curbs on chip sales to certain countries — particularly those in the Middle East.

The UAE has shown it can “guarantee the safety and the security” of chips “if and when they are being deployed and used here,” Peng Xiao, CEO of UAE AI firm G42, told CNBC at a conference in Dubai on Tuesday.

His comments come as the administration of President Joe Biden continues to weigh limits on chip sales from Nvidia and AMD to the Middle East, according to Bloomberg, over fears that American technology and intellectual property could end up in the hands of China.

“I cannot read the mind of the U.S. policymakers, but in many ways, I understand their position,” Xiao told CNBC.

“At the same time from our side, we’ve shown from the UAE side how transparent we are and how we can guarantee the safety and the security of this technology,” he added.

“So I think the door is opening up for us to do a lot more. I believe we’ll see more and more collaboration, more and more technology sharing, more and more joint development of AI between our two countries.” 

The CEO did not elaborate further on what measures were being taken to ensure the security of potential chip imports. CNBC has contacted the company for additional details.

The United States has previously warned over G42’s ties to China and its work with companies in Beijing, which Washington considers a possible security threat. In February, the group sold its stake in Chinese companies including Bytedance in a bid to reassure American partners. Earlier this year, CNBC spoke to G42’s Chief Technology Officer Kiril Evtimov about the company’s decision to cut ties with China, which Evtimov described as a commercial and technological decision. 

In a significant nod of approval for the UAE’s AI ambitions, Microsoft signed a $1.5 billion deal in April with Abu Dhabi’s G42. Last month, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan led a delegation to Washington, which included Xiao and G42 Chairman Sheikh Tahnoon. 

The UAE and U.S. released a joint statement on artificial intelligence cooperation at the time, reaffirming their shared intention “to promote cooperation in AI and related technologies” and to…