US curbs AI chip exports from Nvidia to some Middle East countries

The U.S. expanded the restriction of exports of sophisticated Nvidia artificial-intelligence chips beyond China to other regions including some countries in the Middle East, the company said in a regulatory filing this week.

U.S. officials usually impose export controls for national security reasons. A similar move announced last year signaled an escalation of the U.S. crackdown on China’s technological capabilities, but it was not immediately clear what risks were posed by exports to the Middle East.