00:00 Speaker A

Microsoft announced a $15 billion investment in the UAE along with approval to export advanced Nvidia chips there. So Dan, what does this move signal for Microsoft and its global AI strategy?

00:15 Dan

Yeah, this is something that Microsoft has been trying to do for some time now and it essentially allows them to build out these data centers uh in in the UAE using Nvidia’s chips. There’s, you know, been some concern uh about the UAE’s ties with China, uh how that could play out uh as far as security goes. That’s kind of what’s held up these discussions or or these plans in the past. Uh but now the Trump administration allowing it to move forward uh and allowing the Nvidia chips to kind of flow. And we’ve known about the fact that the UAE is going to get some Nvidia chips uh for quite some time when President Trump had visited there uh earlier this year and said that look, we’re we’re going to allow Nvidia chips to come to the uh to go to that country rather. Uh and so that appears uh to be what this is all kind of linked to. And you know, for Microsoft, it means another region where they can stand up more AI infrastructure. Uh remember, AI infrastructure isn’t something that just exists in one country. You know, they it has to be set up around the world for global customers. Yes, you know, information can travel incredibly fast, but it’s it’s limited, um even if it’s traveling at light speed, it’s still limited by the speed of light, which can result in delays. Um and so, you know, standing up data centers in regions around the world isn’t unheard of. Uh it’s just that this is running on AI and Nvidia’s chips.