OpenAI, Anthropic Quietly Lobby to Restrict Open-Source AI
Get the Tech newsletter
Daily tech — startups, AI labs, chips, the launches that shape the next decade. Free.
- OpenAI and Anthropic are quietly lobbying Washington regulators to restrict open-source AI models, clashing with the rest of the tech industry over whether Chinese open-weight models should be freely available or restricted.
- Sam Altman publicly says he supports open-source AI — a stance that directly contradicts OpenAI's behind-the-scenes lobbying push for restrictions.
- A counter-letter signed by Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta, Palantir, and roughly 20 other firms urged lawmakers to avoid 'premature restrictions' that 'stifle competition or drive innovation overseas.'
- OpenAI eventually signed the pro-open-weight letter, but only quietly and under public pressure; Anthropic held out and did not sign.
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang posted on X for the first time ever specifically to defend open-source AI, using the letter as the occasion for his debut tweet.
- The White House has accused China of stealing from Anthropic, adding a national-security dimension tied to Chinese open-weight models like Kimi.
Why it matters: OpenAI pushes to restrict open-source AI in private lobbying while Altman publicly backs it — a contradiction sharpened by OpenAI quietly signing the counter-letter only under pressure. Anthropic didn't sign. Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, and 20+ firms argue restrictions would push innovation overseas, while the White House frames the fight as national security by accusing China of stealing from Anthropic.
