Skip to content
Sign up to receive our free weekday morning edition, and you'll never miss a scoop.
AWS, Meta join AI industry group

AWS, Meta join AI industry group

AWS and Meta are joining the AI Competition Center industry group, alongside venture capital firm General Catalyst and design software company Canva.

The addition of the companies to AICC gives the initiative supporters among cloud and VC firms, plus Meta, which is focused on open-source models, at a key time for the industry and its relationship with the government.

Companies that allow other researchers to view and build on existing model parameters are increasingly under pressure in Washington, particularly with the news that the open-source approach may have helped China catch up to the U.S. in generative AI systems for very little money.

The AICC, which is part of the existing lobbying and trade group Incompas, is aiming to build up membership in multiple parts of the artificial intelligence ecosystem, including model-makers, infrastructure providers, venture capital firms and energy companies.

AWS, General Catalyst and Canva are all joining Incompas and AICC together, although Amazon and Meta are existing Incompas members.

Since 2014, the umbrella group has been run by former Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) with a focus on telecom issues. According to lobbying disclosure records, it’s been less of a spender than other major tech trade groups, laying out only $230,000 last year, while the most prominent tech industry associations spend more than that in a single quarter.

As generative AI systems have captured the attention of the public and policy-makers in recent years, lobbying firms and trade groups have rushed to build new practices and speak for tech on the topic.

Existing industry groups for cloud providers or internet companies have absorbed much of the work, in part because broad-based lobbying groups can have trouble getting members to agree on priorities and positions.

But Pickering said he wants the AICC to try to speak about AI from the point of view of its many sub-industries.

“The future of AI isn’t just about algorithms and large language models,” he said in a statement. “It’s about having secure energy supplies to power our data centers, robust digital infrastructure to move data, and innovative companies building products and services that improve people’s lives.”

Alongside Pickering, Colin Crowell, a former policy vice president at Twitter, is helping to stand up AICC.

Presented by Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance

Americans know who to blame for rising drug prices: Big Pharma. A majority of Republicans, Democrats, & Independents all believe Big Pharma’s focus on profits keeps drug prices high. Let’s hold Big Pharma accountable – it’s an issue we’re united on.

Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.