Huawei is expanding AI chip sales and partnerships in Middle East and Southeast Asia markets.
Huawei Technologies is attempting to export small amounts of AI chips to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, as it looks to establish itself in markets dominated by U.S. chip designer Nvidia, according to Bloomberg News. The Chinese telecom giant has reached out to potential customers in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Thailand about purchasing its older-generation Ascend 910B AI chips, citing people familiar with the matter. China's strongest competitor to leading U.S. chipmakers is offering the chips in the low thousands, though the exact number remains unclear.
No deals have been finalized yet. Parties in the UAE have not shown interest, while the status of talks in Thailand is unclear. Representatives for the government of Thailand and the Saudi government's media office did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment, and Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comment either.
Beyond the Ascend 910B chips, the company is also trying to attract customers with remote access to CloudMatrix 384, a China-based AI system built with more advanced Huawei chips, which it is not currently ready to export due to limited supplies. The Middle East has emerged as a booming market for AI chips, with several U.S. technology firms such as Nvidia announcing deals in the region. President Donald Trump secured $600 billion in commitments from Saudi Arabia for U.S. companies during a tour of the region in May.
Huawei is also focused on selling 910Cs, its advanced AI chip product, to Chinese firms that cannot access best-in-class American chips. Successive U.S. administrations have sought to restrict China's access to advanced American chip technology, citing concerns that it could be used to strengthen Beijing's military. As an Nvidia spokesperson noted, "With the current export controls, we are effectively out of the China datacenter market, which is now served only by competitors such as Huawei."