Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang joined X on Friday and used his first post to champion AI models that can be downloaded and adapted, arguing they are vital to preserving America’s lead in artificial intelligence.
Mr Huang attached a letter signed by 25 major companies, including Microsoft, Palantir, Perplexity, CrowdStrike and IBM that endorsed open-source software development and “open-weight” AI models.
Some US officials have raised concerns that AI models could pose national security risks, while companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic still largely oppose open architecture for proprietary reasons.
“Open source did more than lower the cost of software; it created a shared foundation of knowledge on which generations of American engineers and entrepreneurs built their institutional sovereignty,” the letter reads.
“Open-weight models – AI models that anyone can download, inspect, modify, and run on their own infrastructure – are an important part of that foundation because they make advanced AI more accessible, adaptable, and widely available,” it continues.
Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella also shared the letter on X, saying open-weight AI models could boost US competitiveness.
“Together with others across our industry, we are outlining a path for open-weight models to strengthen American competitiveness and expand economic opportunity, while protecting national security,” he wrote.
Concern over open-source and open-weight AI models has grown in Washington, partly because several Chinese AI companies have embraced the open-source approach.
Those companies, such as DeepSeek and Moonshot AI, have also been accused by American rivals of copying their technology through a process known as distillation.
This has led to a stigma being associated with open-source AI development in some circles, though experts say distillation has little to do with open-source or open-weight approaches.
A new poll conducted by Pew Research indicates that Americans tend to believe that “China is further advanced than the US” in the global AI race.
Thirty-six per cent of US residents say that China is more advanced in how it develops and deploys AI, whereas 12 per cent say the US leads, while 18 per cent view AI development as being a tie.
Though he didn't sign the letter, Elon Musk signalled his endorsement. “Jensen is right … This has my full support,” he posted on X.
OpenAI's chief executive, Sam Altman, said he wanted “the US to win in AI both in open source and proprietary models, and I am glad to see this”.
The phrases open weight and open source are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are not the same.
Open-source models disclose the software and development process and let users modify and reproduce them.
Open-weight models can be downloaded for others to run and adapt, but the coding and development processes remain proprietary.
