US teams up with eight nations to secure materials for AI race

Washington, US plans to host representatives from eight countries next month to work out agreements for obtaining the raw materials and parts needed to build artificial intelligence systems, according to a top State Department official.

The gathering will take place on December 12 at the White House. Jacob Helberg, who holds the position of undersecretary of state for economic affairs, said the participating nations include Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the UK, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Israel. He shared information about the upcoming event in a recent conversation with reporters.

This move marks another step in Washington’s ongoing campaign to depend less on China for technology supplies while building closer connections with allied countries. Helberg, who used to work as an adviser at Palantir Technologies Inc., said talks will focus on five main topics: energy, advanced manufacturing semiconductors, critical minerals, transportation, logistics, and AI infrastructure.

Government officials chose these particular countries for specific reasons. Each one either has major chip-making companies on its soil or sits on valuable mineral resources that technology companies need.

“It’s clear that right now in AI, it’s a two-horse race — it’s the US and China,” Helberg said. “We want to have a positive, stable relationship with China, but we’re also ready to compete, and we want to make sure that our companies can continue building transformative technologies without being subject to coercive dependencies.”

Previous efforts failed to challenge China’s dominance

The current initiative builds on work that started under previous administrations to fix problems with mineral supplies. When Trump first served as president, the State Department launched the US Energy Resource Governance Initiative, which looked at supply chains for minerals like lithium and cobalt. After that, the Biden team set up a Minerals Security Partnership meant to guide foreign money and Western technical skills toward mining projects in poorer nations.

Even with these earlier programs, Western countries have failed to break China’s grip on rare earth materials. Beijing handles more than 90% of all rare earths and permanent magnets refining around the world, while Malaysia comes in second with only 4%, according to numbers from the International Energy Agency. This Paris-based group monitors global energy markets.

China made its export rules stricter on rare earths at the start of October but decided to hold off on the limits for one year after Trump and President Xi Jinping talked things over.

New strategy focuses on producer nations

Helberg pointed out key ways his plan differs from what the Biden administration did, which brought in more than twelve primary countries. His approach aims at nations that actually produce materials. Also, while the first Trump effort dealt with critical minerals before AI tools like ChatGPT became popular, the new plan covers every technology level needed for AI work, not just one part.

The 36-year-old official used to advise Palantir Chief Executive Officer Alex Karp and helped start the Hill and Valley Forum, where tech company leaders sit down with US lawmakers to talk about national security issues, especially competition with China and new technologies like AI.

Helberg described the partnership efforts as an “America centric” approach instead of just responding to what China does.

“Countries who are participating understand the transformative impact of AI, both for the size of a country’s economy, as well as the strengths of a country’s military,” he said. “They want to be a part of the AI boom.“

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.