Nvidia (NVDA) received the US government's nod earlier this year to sell advanced chips to United Arab Emirates-based artificial intelligence firm G42, Semafor reported Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The approval has not been previously reported.

US lawmakers have in the past raised concerns about G42's possible ties to China and asked the Biden administration for a US assessment of the company's relationship to China's Communist Party, military and government.

Republican lawmakers previously said they believe G42 could be an avenue for sharing sensitive US-origin technology to China.

To win the US's concession on the purchase of Nvidia hardware, G42 built new data centers using technology from Western nations to avoid the possibility of a Chinese backdoor, Semafor reported. The Middle Eastern company also stripped out any parts with ties to China from its older data centers, the report said.

G42 has also barred Chinese nationals from working at its data centers and hired US Department of Defense contractors to find any vulnerabilities that might allow intrusions by the Chinese or others, according to the report.

Nvidia, G42, and the US Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from MT Newswires.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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