Articles by Mackenzie Hawkins

Technology

U.S. plans to approve sale of chips to Saudi AI venture Humain

The U.S. plans to greenlight the first sales of advanced artificial intelligence chips to Saudi Arabian artificial intelligence firm Humain, people familiar with the matter said, marking a win for the state-backed venture as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with U.S. President Donald Trump.The approvals are expected as part of a broader AI agreement between Washington and Riyadh, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing a sensitive matter. The accord, which could be finalized as soon as this week, would see the U.S. government look favorably upon a negotiated volume of AI chip export applications for Saudi Arabia, which has needed Washington’s permission for such shipments since 2023, the people said.“We are working on that,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office as he met with Crown Prince Mohammed on Tuesday. The deal will involve “certain levels of chips,” the president said. One person with knowledge of the matter said the volume of approvals is expected to be in the tens of thousands of semiconductors, while declining to specify further.