White House AI Action Plan Prioritizes Open Weights for U.S. Dominance

Washington D.C. – The Trump Administration on July 23, 2025, unveiled "Winning the Race: America's AI Action Plan," a comprehensive strategy designed to accelerate artificial intelligence innovation, build robust American AI infrastructure, and secure global leadership in the field. A key pillar of this ambitious plan is the explicit promotion of open-source and open-weight AI models, a move lauded by prominent figures in the AI community.

The plan emphasizes that fostering an environment conducive to open-source and open-weight AI is crucial for sustained innovation and competitiveness. Open-weight models, where the underlying parameters of an AI model are freely accessible, allow developers to inspect, modify, and build upon existing AI systems, fostering a collaborative ecosystem. This approach contrasts with proprietary, closed models, which limit external access and scrutiny.

Clement Delangue, CEO of Hugging Face, a leading platform for open AI models, expressed strong approval on social media.

"Great to see 🇺🇸 stepping up on open weights since the @WhiteHouse AI action plan! Well done @DavidSacks @mkratsios47 @sriramk @deanwball!" Delangue stated in a tweet. His sentiment reflects a broader belief that openness drives faster progress and democratizes access to cutting-edge AI capabilities. Hugging Face has long advocated for this model, seeing it as essential for preventing monopolization and spurring widespread development.

The White House's commitment to open AI is championed by key advisors. David Sacks, the newly appointed AI & Crypto Czar, highlighted the administration's focus on promoting competition and innovation through open-source models. Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), who was instrumental in developing the plan, emphasized the goal to "turbocharge our innovation capacity." Sriram Krishnan, Senior White House Policy Advisor on AI and a co-author of the plan, also publicly underscored the focus on open weights, stating that the U.S. needs to lead in this critical area. Dean Ball, a Senior Advisor at OSTP, is also noted among those contributing to this policy direction.

This strategic shift aims to ensure that American AI technologies become the global standard, leveraging the collective intelligence of researchers and developers worldwide. By embracing open weights, the administration seeks to counter foreign advancements in AI, particularly from nations that have seen significant progress in open-source AI development. The plan signifies a clear intent to prioritize an open, collaborative, and innovation-driven future for AI in the United States.