AI startups find a D.C. advocate in Rep. Obernolte

HumanX and Humanrace Capital have tapped Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) to launch the AI Coalition, a nonprofit meant to help smaller AI companies and startups get access to Washington. Without a voice in D.C., startups fear they could be sidelined by the heavy compliance costs of inconsistent state laws or onerous federal rules. Rep Obernolte, a leading House Republican on AI who has pushed for a moratorium on state-level AI laws, brings some heft to the project. The group is calling itself "the first nonprofit specifically designed to provide early-stage AI companies, from pre-seed through Series B, with meaningful access to policymakers and influence over the regulations that will define the next decade of innovation." The group will be registered as both a 501(c)(3) and 501 (c)(6) for both education and lobbying, said HumanX CEO Stefan Weitz, and cost members $1,750 to $3,500 monthly.