(Reuters) – U.S. officials have discussed limiting sales of advanced AI chips from Nvidia (NASDAQ:) and other American companies on a country-specific basis, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The United States is focused on Persian Gulf countries, the report said, adding that this new approach would set a ceiling on export licenses for some countries in the interest of national security.
The idea has gained traction in recent weeks and deliberations are in early stages and remain fluid, according to Bloomberg.
The U.S. Commerce Department and Nvidia declined to comment, while Intel (NASDAQ:) and AMD (NASDAQ:) did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The Commerce Department unveiled a rule last month that could ease shipments of artificial intelligence chips like those from Nvidia to data centers in the Middle East.
Under the rule, data centers will be able to apply for…
