Nvidia Expands Global Reach With UAE Approval
Nvidia (NVDA) shares climbed to a new all-time intraday high above $195 on Thursday after Bloomberg reported the company had received a long-awaited US export license to ship AI chips to the United Arab Emirates.
The Commerce Department approved the exports following the UAE’s agreement to make reciprocal investments in the US, marking Nvidia’s first official clearance to sell AI chips to the region under the current administration.
The move follows the unveiling of “Stargate UAE,” a planned 5-gigawatt AI data center hub in Abu Dhabi involving OpenAI, Oracle, Cisco, and Nvidia — part of a broader strategy to expand Western AI infrastructure partnerships beyond China.
- The approval opens a new multi-billion-dollar market for Nvidia at a time when Chinese restrictions have curbed chip exports.
- China has reportedly banned tech firms from buying Nvidia chips, prompting the company to diversify into Middle Eastern and European markets.
Wall Street Turns Even More Bullish on Nvidia
Adding fuel to the rally, Cantor Fitzgerald’s C.J. Muse lifted his Nvidia price target to a Wall Street-high of $300, dismissing AI bubble fears and calling this phase a “multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure build-out.”
Muse emphasized that hyperscalers like Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOGL) are driving hundreds of billions in AI-related spending, creating a durable, multi-year demand cycle for chips and data centers.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang echoed that optimism, calling demand for the company’s Blackwell GPUs “really, really high” and describing the current wave as “the beginning of a new industrial revolution.”
The company’s stock is now up more than 43% year-to-date, extending its leadership in the AI chip market despite rising competition and ongoing regulatory uncertainty.
Also buoying sentiment: Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) reported stronger-than-expected Q3 sales, signaling a healthy AI supply chain and lifting semiconductor stocks broadly.
Intel Fights Back With Core Ultra 3 and 18A Process Breakthrough
While Nvidia dominates the AI spotlight, Intel (INTC) unveiled its Core Ultra Series 3 “Panther Lake” processor — its first chip built using the company’s long-delayed 18A process technology.
The chip, manufactured at Intel’s new Fab 52 plant in Arizona, represents the company’s most advanced node ever developed and built entirely in the United States.
Intel said Core Ultra 3 will:
- Increase multi-thread performance by up to 50% and single-thread performance by 10%.
- Deliver up to 180 trillion operations per second (TOPS) for AI workloads.
- Ship in three configurations, with up to 16 CPU cores and 12 Xe GPU cores.
The new chips will enter high-volume production this year and begin shipping before year-end, marking a crucial milestone for Intel as it looks to regain competitiveness against Nvidia and AMD.
The launch also reinforces Intel’s role in onshoring semiconductor manufacturing under US industrial policy — a core priority for the Trump administration’s tech agenda.
The Broader Semiconductor Landscape
Despite renewed optimism, Intel’s challenges remain steep. The company continues to trail Nvidia and AMD in AI chip performance and ecosystem adoption, even as it garners new backing:
- The US government recently acquired a ~10% stake in Intel to bolster domestic chip production.
- Nvidia invested $5 billion in Intel stock as part of a deal to co-develop data center and client CPUs.
- SoftBank added another $2 billion investment.
If Intel’s 18A technology delivers as promised, it could mark the turning point in America’s semiconductor race — one where Nvidia leads in design and AI software, but Intel reasserts control over the manufacturing backbone.
WSA Take
Thursday’s twin developments — Nvidia’s UAE export approval and Intel’s 18A debut — underscore a clear narrative: the AI arms race is expanding beyond Big Tech and into national strategy.
Nvidia’s access to Middle Eastern markets cements its dominance in AI infrastructure, while Intel’s successful rollout of US-built chips signals a geopolitical realignment in semiconductor power.
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