The Trump administration is considering a deal that could send hundreds of thousands of U.S.-designed artificial intelligence chips to G42, an Emirati AI firm that the U.S. government has scrutinized in the past for its ties to China, three people familiar with the discussions said.

The negotiations, which are ongoing, highlight a major shift in U.S. tech policy ahead of President Donald Trump’s visit to the Persian Gulf states this week. The talks have also created tension inside the Trump administration between tech- and business-minded leaders who want to close a deal before Trump’s trip and national security officials who worry that the technology could be misused by the Emiratis.

The Trump administration has embraced cutting direct deals for AI chips with officials from the Middle East, as it looks to strengthen U.S. ties in the region, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the negotiations are ongoing. The approach marks a break from the Biden administration, which had rejected similar AI chip sales over fears that they could give autocratic governments with strong ties to China an edge over the United States in developing the most cutting-edge AI models in coming years.

In the talks with G42 and officials from the United Arab Emirates, David Sacks, the White House AI czar, has been working on an agreement that would give the Emirati firm access to chips with limited oversight. Some of the chips would go to a partnership that G42 has with the U.S. firm OpenAI, while others would be sent directly to G42, one of the people said, adding that a deal is not yet final.

The Trump administration is also expected to announce a deal this week with officials in Saudi Arabia, two people with knowledge of the agreement said. The deal would give the Saudi government and its new AI company, Humain, access to tens of thousands of semiconductors and technology support from Nvidia and its AI chip rival, Advanced Micro Devices.

The United States began requiring a license for the purchase of AI chips during the Biden administration because of their value in helping governments develop military and surveillance technologies.

The Trump administration’s changes have the potential to reshape an arms race among nations, and countries eager to develop AI. Major chip sales would be a boon for G42, potentially catapulting the Emirati firm to be one of the most powerful AI companies outside the United States. It would be a powerful catalyst for the businesses of Nvidia, the world’s leading AI chipmaker. And it would fulfill OpenAI’s multiyear effort to bring more computing power to the Middle East.

Alasdair Phillips-Robins, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former official in the Commerce Department, said a sale that included hundreds of thousands of advanced chips would risk handing “control of the future of AI to countries that have political systems that we shouldn’t fundamentally trust.”

“There’s a reason why these countries are so keen to get these chips, and it’s not purely the financial returns,” he said. “AI is going to be the backbone of militaries.”

The White House and G42 did not respond to requests for comment. OpenAI declined to comment.

Sacks has been in the Middle East for several days working on this and other deals. On Sunday, he posted a photo of himself on social media with Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Emirates’ national security adviser, who is also chair of G42, saying that they had discussed their nations’ AI plans and opportunities.

“The U.S. must make itself the partner-of-choice for our friends and allies — otherwise others will fill that gap,” Sacks wrote on X, the social media platform.

Sheikh Tahnoon said in a social media post that the discussions were part of strengthening economic ties between the countries. He added that “collaboration in advanced technologies serves as a cornerstone for building a smart, sustainable digital future that meets the aspirations of future generations.”

G42 is at the forefront of an Emirati effort to build an artificial intelligence industry and to lessen its dependence on oil income. The firm is controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon. It includes a $10 billion technology investment fund, an Arabic language AI model, a tech talent platform, a health care company and a genome-sequencing program.

The firm has been clamoring for access to U.S. chips for several years, but negotiations with the Biden administration were slowed by concerns over its ties to China.

In previous years, U.S. spy agencies issued warnings about G42’s work with Chinese companies, including telecom firm Huawei, and warned that G42 could be a conduit for siphoning advanced U.S. technology to China. G42 has denied any connections to the Chinese government or military.