Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson (Preview) The U.S. Partners with the Middle East in AI, Why OpenAI Is Acquiring Windsurf, Google’s Side of the Platform Wars
May 19, 2025
Recent partnerships between the U.S. and Middle Eastern nations in AI are reshaping tech landscapes. The discussion highlights significant investments and collaborations, including a major data center in Abu Dhabi. Also, OpenAI's acquisition of Windsurf raises questions about future innovation. With changes in AI policies and the repeal of diffusion rules, the conversation delves into what this means for American tech leadership and the competitive arena, especially against China.
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US-Middle East AI Partnerships
- The US is partnering with Saudi Arabia and UAE on massive AI data center projects, signaling strategic investment in AI infrastructure abroad.
- These collaborations could shift AI development power centers and foster greater AI cloud service reach to the global south.
Exporting AI Growth to Other Countries
- Shipping production abroad helps the US reduce domestic power consumption but transfers AI infrastructure growth to countries with fewer constraints.
- This reflects a tradeoff between domestic limits and sustaining AI infrastructure globally, affecting American tech leadership dynamics.
US Chip Limits Affect Global AI
- AI chip diffusion rules inadvertently tether global AI progress to US chip production capacity.
- The US faces a future power capacity limit, meaning a gated AI landscape globally based on US constraints is ill-conceived.