Huawei Technologies is taking steps to reduce Nvidia's dominance in the AI chip market by offering its products in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Huawei's AI Offerings
Huawei has introduced its Ascend 910B processors to potential customers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand. The company plans to sell several thousand units of these chips in the region, though specific distribution figures per country have not yet been disclosed.
AI Chip Market in UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand
These three countries heavily rely on Nvidia's processors. Recently, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have agreed to multi-year contracts to purchase over a million chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. Part of the agreed-upon chips will be supplied to AI firm G42 in the UAE and to US companies building data centers in the country.
Status of Negotiations and Reactions to Huawei's Products
So far, Huawei has not secured contracts with the countries it approached. However, its offers have drawn attention from US policymakers concerned about the country's leadership in AI chip production. There has been little interest from institutions like the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, while Saudi Arabia might be more open to potential acquisitions. A spokesperson for the Saudi Data & AI Authority, SDAIA, declined to comment on the current discussions.
Huawei continues its efforts to capture a share of the AI chip market by offering alternatives to existing solutions in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, despite Nvidia's significant advantage.
