US expands AI chip export restrictions to Middle East over national securit y concerns: The US has expanded its export restrictions on AI chips from US chipmakers Nvidia and AMD — originally imposed on China — to several undisclosed Middle East countries, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Nvidia said in a regulatory filing (pdf) last week that the government had imposed new curbs to some customers and other regions, including some in the Middle East, but that these would not have an immediate impact on its financial performance. The restrictions cover Nvidia’s A100 and H100 chips, which are used for advanced machine learning.

REMEMBER- The Biden administration last year restricted Nvidia and AMD from exporting AI semiconductors to China, the latest in a series of moves meant to stunt Chinese tech development amid a rumbling trade war and heightened political tensions with Beijjng.

A denial: A spokesperson for the US Department of Commerce denied blocking chip sales to Middle Eastern countries but refused to comment on whether it had imposed new restrictions on some US firms, according to Reuters.

ALSO- The chances of a Libya-Israel rapprochement are looking slim: Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has ruled out normalizing diplomatic ties with Israeli, a few days after a secret meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers caused uproar in the Libyan capital. (Bloomberg)

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