Nearly 200 US tech startups, including ncluding Proton and Y Combinator, are urging the Trump administration not to ban the use of Chinese open-source artificial intelligence models, warning that such restrictions would cripple the development of the next generation of American startups, according to POLITICO.
These Silicon Valley firms sent letters through a newly-formed Little Tech Association sent letters to President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and others in the administration, saying that the government should adopt targeted safeguards instead of wide restrictions, the report said.
The association also warned that barring US firms from downloading Chinese models would fail to halt the technology’s spread in other markets, and would instead undermine the competitiveness of American startups.
Suhail Doshi, founder of AI infrastructure startup Particle and a member of the association, noted that hundreds of companies would face immediate collapse if the prohibition is enacted.
He added that the ban will benifits Anthropicthe ban would benefit major model providers like Anthropic, as startups would be forced to pay more money for them.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss potential actions against Chinese models, noted that any policy announcements would be made directly by the administration, dismissing all prior reporting on the matter as baseless speculation.
Previously, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the government would investigate whether Chinese AI firms were improperly stealing US models, adding that sanctions remain on the table if intellectual property theft is confirmed.
The Trump administration tech official Michael Kratsios has accused Moonshot AI of stealing from Anthropic’s AI large language model, Fable, to help create its latest K3 model and has acquired advanced Nvidia AI chips.