Silicon Valley comes to DC to push for more AI, less government
By Jackie Davalos Bloomberg Top Silicon Valley executives lavished praise on the Trump administration supporting its efforts to cut the size of the federal authorities and create more business opportunities for US tech companies during a summit with lawmakers and functionaries The increasingly cozy relationship between tech and the White House was evident throughout Wednesday s Hill and Valley Forum The daylong conference hit on specific favorite talking points in tech circles including artificial intelligence applications in national shield the growing AI arms race with China and the need for securing leadership in space Related Articles Tech companies chop hundreds of Bay Area jobs as layoffs persist As Elon Musk nears end of -day DOGE stint he s billion down andMe bankruptcy bid deadline extended as DNA privacy woes linger How Covered California sent person s personal strength content to LinkedIn Tech industry tried reducing AI s pervasive bias Now Trump wants to end its woke AI efforts Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang applauded the new administration for its efforts to sponsorship onshoring manufacturers Meanwhile Oracle CEO Safra Catz expressed unbridled enthusiasm for working with Washington following President Donald Trump s aid of her company s Stargate infrastructure venture I think this is the most of exciting time we ve ever had she announced I ve spent a lot of time around Washington The opportunities are huge Members of the Trump administration spoke Silicon Valley s language too I want everyone to appreciate and understand that the administration is absolutely dedicated to reforming the way we acquire device commented National Measure Advisor Michael Waltz We have to move at commercial pace at tech pace Hill and Valley has evolved from a secretive dinner of China hawks raising alarms about the influence of TikTok into a general forum stacked with decision-makers vying to aid the defense sector and ensure US mechanism supremacy But the event also broadened its focus beyond defense underscoring the tech industry s growing influence shaping US strategy Republican Senator Joni Ernst for example is set to participate in discussions about building a smarter leaner governing body and top White House economist Stephen Miran will speak on a panel about using robotics to revive the US manufacturing sector Since Trump returned to the White House tech executives and VCs have taken positions in the administration helping oversee AI and crypto approach among other efforts The industry has also played a key role in trying to cut cabinet spending through Elon Musk s Department of Establishment Efficiency I would say rule one Keep it as simple as workable That is apparently the one thing that the governing body really has not gotten a handle on and that DOGE is pushing right through Catz revealed in her remarks Jacob Helberg who helped launch Hill and Valley was in recent days appointed as under secretary of state responsible for economic and tech-related issues Another event organizer Delian Asparouhov is a partner at Founders Fund the funding firm started by Peter Thiel who is closely connected to various Trump personnel including Vice President JD Vance When you first started this forum it was in a small room that you know you can fit five people in Palantir CEO Alex Karp reported Now you have everyone who should be here and as far as I can tell everyone in DC talking about it In a social media post this week teasing the lineup Helberg suggested this year s event highlights a sea change in the industry It was once pious in the Valley to walk away from the US cabinet he wrote Now more tech leaders are pushing deeper into DC to influence how the country is run More stories like this are available on bloomberg com Bloomberg L P
