"Chip Company's Turnaround: Middle Eastern Investors' AI Ambitions Fuel Success"
California-based chip company Blaize, founded by former Intel engineers, struggled to raise capital until Middle Eastern investors, led by Shahal Khan, stepped in with a growing interest in AI. Blaize is set to go public via a SPAC merger with an enterprise value of $894 million, backed by investors from the Middle East, despite potential challenges from U.S. government restrictions on semiconductor exports to the region over China concerns. The company has been busy signing deals in the Middle East and is targeting defense applications, while also eyeing partnerships in Saudi Arabia for deploying its chips in a new data center and drones used for agriculture.