Nvidia stock gave up early gains on Friday as investors weighed a report about delays in a multibillion-dollar deal to supply its artificial-intelligence chips to the United Arab Emirates.
The stall comes despite the chipmaker’s market capitalisation recently crossing $4.5 trillion, underscoring both its meteoric rise and growing geopolitical pressures around AI technology exports.
At midday trading, Nvidia stock was up 0.1% at $189.08, after climbing 0.9% on Thursday.
Nvidia’s UAE deal faces hurdles
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, a deal announced in May that promised to send several hundred thousand Nvidia AI chips annually to the UAE is now stuck in limbo.
Under the terms, the UAE had pledged to invest in the US in exchange for the chips.
However, five months on, the investment has not materialised, leaving administration officials puzzled over the reason for the delay.
The report said the holdup has frustrated Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang and senior US officials, including White House AI Czar David Sacks, who viewed the deal as a centrepiece of a new US export strategy aimed at countering China’s AI ambitions.
The Commerce Department, led by Secretary Howard Lutnick, holds significant sway over the deal’s future, as export approvals are essential for Nvidia and its partners to move forward.
Lutnick was among the deal’s early proponents, though progress has since stalled.
Nvidia deepens Fujitsu partnership
Earlier in the day, the company announced it is expanding its collaboration with Fujitsu to co-develop full-stack artificial intelligence infrastructure, targeting faster enterprise adoption across sectors including healthcare, manufacturing and robotics.
The partnership will focus on creating industry-specific AI agents designed to continuously learn and adapt, which both companies describe as laying the groundwork for the next phase of the AI industrial revolution.
Central to the effort is the integration of Fujitsu’s Monaka Central Processing Units (CPUs) with Nvidia’s Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) using NVLink Fusion.
The companies said the approach will deliver more specialised systems than general-purpose architectures can provide, tailoring computing performance to sector-specific demands.
Analysts bullish on Nvidia stock
The delay comes at a time when Nvidia continues to dominate discussions around AI infrastructure.
The company’s valuation pushed past $4.5 trillion this week, propelled by excitement over artificial intelligence advancements, including OpenAI’s newly reported $500 billion valuation.
Nvidia’s graphics processors remain central to training and running large AI models, making the company a linchpin in the industry’s rapid expansion.
Despite concerns over the UAE deal, analysts remain optimistic about Nvidia’s long-term trajectory.
Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated its Overweight rating on the stock with a $240 price target, describing Nvidia as “the de facto AI infrastructure company” and the “quarterbacking force” behind the global buildout of artificial intelligence systems.
The firm also addressed market concerns about potential “circularity of vendor financing” and speculation of an AI bubble linked to Nvidia’s investment in OpenAI.
In its view, AI adoption is still in the early stages, leaving “a clear path to $10 trillion+ market cap” for Nvidia.
Cantor reiterated that it sees Nvidia as its “top pick” among AI-linked equities.
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