The Biden administration has secretly mulled limiting sales of advanced AI chips from Nvidia and AMD to some Persian Gulf countries in the interest of national security, Bloomberg reported Monday. The restriction could limit export licenses for certain countries, likely Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are heavily investing in AI data centers.

White House increasingly looks at the American AI chips as the new equivalent of manufacturing the American steel. Last year, the United States banned the sale of the advanced AI chips by Nvidia and AMD to China and placed export restrictions on 40 other countries around the world to close loopholes where AI chips could be sent indirectly to China.

The most recent reported discussions could therefore indicate that American officials are indeed afraid of the international reach of which Persian Gulf states appear to be taking over the AI industry. This year, for instance, Saudi Arabia reportedly plans to raise a $40 billion fund dedicated to investing in AI technology while OpenAI reportedly held talks with a UAE-backed investment fund about participating in its latest $6.6 billion funding round.