Nvidia Locks In Billions for AI Chips in the Middle East

Pivot 5
May 14, 2025

Pivot 5 is the must-read daily AI briefing for 500,000+ CEOs and business leaders who need signal, not noise.

Nvidia and AMD Secure Major AI Chip Deals in Saudi Arabia

Nvidia and AMD secured significant deals to supply AI chips to Saudi Arabian company Humain, backed by the Public Investment Fund. The chips will power a 500-megawatt AI data center initiative, with several hundred thousand advanced GPUs to be delivered over the next five years.
The announcement was made during the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh, coinciding with President Donald Trump's visit. Humain plans to build 1.9 gigawatts of AI data centers by 2030, marking a substantial investment in AI infrastructure.
This move signals a strategic shift in U.S. AI chip export policy, reversing previous restrictions and aiming to strengthen alliances while limiting Chinese tech influence. The deals also led to a surge in Nvidia's stock, reflecting investor confidence in the new trade dynamics.

Read more here.

OpenAI introduced HealthBench, a new benchmark designed to assess AI systems in realistic healthcare scenarios. Built with input from 262 physicians across 60 countries, it includes 5,000 multi-turn, multilingual health conversations.
HealthBench aims to provide meaningful, trustworthy, and unsaturated evaluations, reflecting real-world impact and physician judgment. It sets a new baseline for model performance and safety in health applications.
This initiative addresses the need for rigorous validation of AI models in healthcare, ensuring they meet the standards and priorities of medical professionals. It represents a significant step toward integrating AI safely into clinical settings.

Read more here.

Audible announced the expansion of its audiobook catalog through fully integrated, end-to-end AI production technology. This allows publishers to convert titles into audiobooks using over 100 AI-generated voices in multiple languages.
The initiative includes options for both Audible-managed and self-service production, offering flexibility to publishers. Additionally, AI translation tools in beta will support translations from English to Spanish, French, Italian, and German.
This development aims to broaden global access to audiobooks and enhance production efficiency, enabling more stories to reach listeners worldwide. It reflects Audible's commitment to leveraging AI to meet the growing demand for audiobooks.

Read more here.

Andreessen Horowitz partners admitted the lack of a clear definition for 'AI agents' during a recent podcast episode. They noted that the term is often used loosely, ranging from simple prompts to complex autonomous systems.
The VCs emphasized that current AI agents lack persistent memory and reliable autonomy, making them far from true human replacements. They highlighted the technical challenges in developing agents that can work independently over long periods.
This acknowledgment reflects the broader industry's struggle to define and develop truly autonomous AI agents. It underscores the need for clearer standards and expectations in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Read more here.

Stella Garber outlined a five-question stress test to assess the viability of AI startup ideas. Drawing from her experience as a founder and angel investor, she emphasizes the importance of execution over the idea itself.
The framework includes evaluating whether the AI solution fundamentally changes existing workflows and if the founder is uniquely positioned to solve the problem. It serves as a practical guide to avoid common pitfalls in AI entrepreneurship.
This approach provides a structured method for founders to critically assess their AI ideas before investing time and resources. It highlights the necessity of aligning AI solutions with real-world needs and founder expertise.

Read more here.