David Sacks Hails Trump's AI Strategy In Middle East As Power Move Over China — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Backs Him: 'Sorry Naive People Are Giving You Grief'
As criticism mounts over the Donald Trump administration's AI chip deals with Gulf states, David Sacks and Sam Altman are pushing back, calling the partnerships a strategic win over China.
What Happened: Trump announced multibillion-dollar AI partnerships between U.S. companies and Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The deals involve major players like Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM).
Despite concerns from lawmakers about potential Chinese access to U.S. AI chips via Gulf allies, Sacks, a tech investor and White House AI advisor, defended the initiative in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"I'm genuinely perplexed how any self-proclaimed ‘China Hawk' can claim that President Trump's AI deals with UAE and Saudi Arabia aren't hugely beneficial for the United States," Sacks wrote.
He cited semiconductor analyst Dylan Patel that the partnerships "will noticeably shift the balance of power" in the U.S.'s favor and asked critics: "Does China wish it had made these deals? Yes of course it does. But President Trump got there first and beat them to the punch."
Altman shared Sacks’ post on X and echoed his view, stating, "This was an extremely smart thing for you all to do and I'm sorry naive people are giving you grief."
Why It's Important: The Joe Biden administration had previously implemented rules to restrict AI chip exports to countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE, citing national security risks.
However, those limits have now been rolled back, with new policies still in development, reported Axios.
On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) cautioned that Trump's backing of efforts to export sensitive U.S. AI chip technology to allies in the Persian Gulf might ultimately give an advantage to China.
Earlier, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang warned that limiting access to China's AI market could harm the company, U.S. jobs, and overall technological progress.
His remarks followed a report revealing that Nvidia has notified key Chinese clients — including Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA), ByteDance and Tencent Holdings (OTC:TCEHY) — that it is developing a modified version of its AI chip designed to meet U.S. export restrictions.
Nvidia has earned a growth score of 95.02% from Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings. Click here to see how it stacks up against other top tech firms like AMD, Qualcomm, Alibaba and Tencent.
Photo Courtesy: twenty1studio On Shutterstock.com
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