Google has thrown its weight behind an open letter urging US policymakers not to restrict open-weight AI models, joining a growing chorus of tech heavyweights that includes OpenAI and xAI. The twist: none of those three companies have actually signed the thing yet.
The letter, titled “Open Weights and American AI Leadership” and dated July 24, 2026, has attracted roughly 25 signatories so far. Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, Palantir, Hugging Face, a16z, Mistral, Dell, and IBM are among the names that have put pen to paper. Google, OpenAI, and xAI have expressed public support but remain absent from the official signatory list.
What the letter actually says
The core argument is straightforward: open-weight AI models, where companies release model parameters publicly so others can build on them, are good for America. The letter contends that clamping down on these models prematurely would hand a competitive advantage to rivals, particularly China.
It draws a direct parallel to the open-source software movement of the 1980s. Back then, critics warned that freely sharing code would be a security disaster. Instead, open-source software became the backbone of the modern internet.
