The hottest technology of the last 12 months has been artificial intelligence (AI). OpenAI started the race by launching ChatGPT before Google launched Bard and Meta launched Llama 2. As can be seen at this time, the world of generative AI is dominated by Western countries with China trying to catch up even with access to hardware being blocked. According to a Financial Times report, the country The Middle East also did not want to be left behind and began to wholesale AI chips produced by NVIDIA.
Saudi Arabia, for example, wholesaled more than 3000 NVIDIA H100 chips that will be used to build the Shaheen III supercomputer at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust). Kaust previously had several hundred NVIDIA A100 chips used to train language models for local use.
The cost of buying thousands of these H100 chips reached $120 million but it is a long-term investment so that the country does not have to rely on Western or Chinese AI. In Saudi Arabia research in the field of AI is carried out with the majority of the workforce coming from China.
The UAE is also believed to be buying thousands of NVIDIA AI chips and has successfully trained their own LLMs named Falcon. Another interesting thing is that the UAE is the first country to have a dedicated ministry for local intelligence.
Through 2023, NVIDIA is predicted to produce 550,000 H100 chips. The demand for AI chips has increased dramatically as it is seen as not only necessary to develop the country but at the same time ensure that the country can be self-sufficient without having to export other countries' AI technology. Last week several Chinese technology giants were reported to wholesale NVIDIA's A800 chips in preparation in case the Joe Biden administration wants to further tighten AI chip sales.