The chipmaker powering the AI revolution has canceled a 2,500 person conference in Tel Aviv due to the Israel-Hamas war

• Chipmaker Nvidia canceled its AI Summit in Tel Aviv which had sessions on topics like AI and LLMs.
• Israel is in a state of war after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Saturday, killing hundreds.

Chipmaker Nvidia had to cancel an AI conference scheduled in Tel Aviv, Israel next week due to safety concerns about the ongoing conflict in the country, the company announced on its website.

"We hope this message finds you safe and well. We regret to inform you that due to the current situation in Israel, we have decided to cancel AI SUMMIT, which was scheduled for October 15th and 16th," the message on its website reads.

"Our hearts go out to all those affected by the situation. The safety and wellbeing of our participants are our top priority, and we believe this is the best course of action to ensure everyone's safety."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a state of war on Saturday after militant group Hamas staged a surprise attack. According to the Israeli embassy in the US, at least 1,000 Israelis, most of them civilians, have been killed.

Israel retaliated with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, killing over 700 people in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang was supposed to deliver a keynote at the conference to discuss the company's latest plans for generative AI and cloud computing, CNBC reported. Most of the planned speakers were executives from Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Lenovo, and Snowflake.

The summit, described as "the #1 conference for developers, business leaders, and AI researchers," on its website, was going to have 2,500 attendees including developers, researchers and tech workers.

On its website, Nvidia highlighted over 6,000 startups in Israel with investments from VCs, which makes it "one of the world's most vibrant technology hubs."

The event was supposed to have 60 sessions on topics about AI, LLMs, cybersecurity, autonomous vehicles and more.

Insider reached out to Nvidia for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Some Israeli tech CEOs and VCs are volunteering for army service to help out in the war against Hamas. This includes CodiumAI's CEO Itamar Friedman who reported for reservist duty and cofounder of VC firm Target Global, Shmuel Chafets.

"I think as an Israeli, it's my duty and all of our duty to come and protect our country," Chafets told Bloomberg TV.