Scoop: House Foreign Affairs lawmakers head to Silicon Valley to talk AI exports

Ashley Gold

Illustration of a cursor inside an open cargo container. — Illustration: Maura Kearns/Axios

House Foreign Affairs Committee members are heading to Silicon Valley next week to discuss AI and export controls with leading tech companies, according to an invitation seen by Axios.

Why it matters: The trip underscores how AI is becoming a foreign policy priority, even as the White House has diverged from the Hill on whether China should have access to the most advanced chips.

Driving the news: A bipartisan group of committee members will meet with representatives from companies including Google, Anthropic, Meta, Tesla, Intel, Applied Materials and Nvidia, a source familiar with the matter said.

The committee advanced the MATCH Act earlier this month, legislation meant to cut off China's access to the tools needed to make advanced chips.
Lawmakers are trying to better understand how export controls work and where security gaps remain, per a committee staffer.

What they're saying: One informal gathering on May 4 will "bring together leaders from across the technology sector to strengthen engagement between industry and the committee and discuss shared priorities at a critical moment for innovation and strategic competition," according to the invite from the committee to tech industry members.

A committee staffer confirmed the trip to Axios and said it would include both Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.) and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.).

Beyond the roundtable referenced in the invitation, members will pursue their own meetings with companies.

The big picture: The meetings reflect a push by Congress to get closer to industry as it weighs a growing slate of AI and export-related bills.

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Scoop: House Foreign Affairs lawmakers head to Silicon Valley to talk AI exports

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