The UAE just got easier access to AI chips. One permission runs out in April 2027

By George Titus · 13 August 2026 · 4 min read

Two Abu Dhabi companies won a licence-free path to advanced chips. It has an expiry date, and buyers signing long contracts should know it. The United States has made it far easier to ship advanced AI chips to the United Arab Emirates. On 10 July the Commerce Department moved the UAE into Country Group A:5. That is the most trusted tier in the American export system, the one used for close allies. The rule took effect immediately, on the day it was filed for public inspection, and was published in the Federal Register four days later, on 14 July. Before this, the UAE sat in lower tiers. Most shipments needed a separate licence, reviewed case by case.

On 10 July the Commerce Department moved the UAE into Country Group A:5. That is the most trusted tier in the American export system, the one used for close allies. The rule took effect immediately, on the day it was filed for public inspection, and was published in the Federal Register four days later, on 14 July.

Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the US, said in an embassy statement that the change opens new doors for joint research, deeper technology cooperation, more trade and a stronger defence partnership.

Who is on the list

The rule created a list of approved recipients. Two UAE companies are on it: G42 and its infrastructure arm Core42. Eight American AI companies and their UAE units are also named. They are Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI.

The two groups do not get the same deal. The American companies are approved for two things: advanced computing items, and a wider licence exception called STA that covers other controlled goods. G42 and Core42 are approved for the first only. They can receive advanced computing items without a licence. They are not approved for STA.

MGX, the Abu Dhabi investment firm, is not on the approved list. The rule says Commerce will look favourably on licence applications involving it, which is a softer benefit. Other UAE companies can apply for approval through a process called an advisory opinion.

The date that matters. Why buyers should care

The approval for G42 and Core42 does not last. It expires automatically on 6 April 2027. That is 270 days after the rule took effect.

To keep it, the two companies must do one of two things. Become US-headquartered companies. Or apply again. Neither company has said publicly which route it will take. There is no point guessing.

Here is where this becomes a business question rather than a policy one. Companies that buy AI infrastructure sign long contracts. A bank or a logistics group moving its systems to a Core42 environment is usually committing for three to five years. The supplier’s current chip access is approved until April 2027. That is a shorter window than most of the contracts being signed against it.

This is a normal type of risk in procurement. Buyers deal with it all the time using standard tools: change-of-law clauses, continuity promises, or the right to move systems elsewhere if something specific changes. What makes this case unusual is that the risk has a date on it. Most supplier risk is guesswork. This one is written down and public. The practical step is simple. Ask about it during the contract talks, not after.

The Gulf is now selling compute, not just buying it

A day before the rule was published, a second deal pointed in the opposite direction. On 9 July, during a visit to Saudi Arabia by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, HUMAIN and Cohere announced a partnership. HUMAIN will set aside at least 50 megawatts of computing capacity for Cohere’s next generation of foundation models. The capacity can grow over five years. It is expected to be running by the fourth quarter of 2027. The two will also work together on Arabic-language and industry-specific models.

Semafor reported that this is Cohere’s first major deployment outside North America. That detail is the point. Cohere is a Canadian company. It could have placed this workload in North America or Europe. It chose Saudi Arabia.

Aidan Gomez, Cohere’s chief executive, said the partnership gives the company the scale and flexibility it needs for future models. Tareq Amin, who runs HUMAIN, put it more bluntly: access to compute will define the future of AI.

What is worth watching

Most announcements in this sector are vague. These two are not. Both come with numbers. Fifty megawatts is a real quantity. A 270-day approval window is a real deadline. Both also come with dates that can be checked later. The Cohere capacity has a target quarter. The G42 and Core42 approval has an expiry.

For companies in the region, the takeaway is narrow but useful. There is now serious computing capacity being built in the Gulf, and the operators building it are willing to sell it to demanding international customers.

At the same time, the terms on which those operators buy their own hardware are decided elsewhere. Those terms are public. In one important case, they expire in April 2027. Both facts belong in the same conversation. Both belong in the contract.