Entrepreneur Mark Cuban is advocating for sustained United States investment in artificial intelligence (AI) research, citing its crucial role in maintaining global competitiveness, particularly against China. This call comes as significant changes to federal research funding are causing concern within the scientific community. Cuban emphasizes the strategic importance of domestic intellectual property (IP) for advanced AI models like ChatGPT and Gemini, suggesting that licensing U.S.-produced IP could generate revenue to support ongoing research and development. He also stresses the need to retain top scientific talent in the U.S. to foster innovation and American leadership in AI.
These advocacy efforts coincide with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on August 8, 2025. The order grants political appointees increased control over federal grants from agencies such as FEMA, the NSF, and the NIH, requiring officials to review and align funding with stated priorities and national interests. The directive also allows for the termination of existing and future grants and temporarily halts new funding announcements pending new review protocols. The scientific community has expressed apprehension, fearing that these policy shifts could compromise the apolitical nature of research funding, impede scientific progress, and potentially lead to a "reverse brain drain" as researchers seek opportunities in countries with robust scientific investment, like China. Recent analyses indicate that while the U.S. leads in private AI investment ($109.1 billion in 2024 compared to China's $9.3 billion), China is rapidly narrowing the gap in AI research and patent filings, underscoring the urgency of sustained U.S. investment to preserve its technological edge.