Silicon Valley and D.C. Are United on the Future of Tech. Except for the Most Important AI Company in the World |
Silicon Valley and D.C. Are United on the Future of Tech. Except for the Most Important AI Company in the World
At the Hill & Valley Summit, even rival techies agreed on where the big opportunities are in AI, energy, and getting government contracts. But where was Anthropic?
BY MELISSA ANGELL, SENIOR STAFF WRITER @MELISSKAWRITES
Photo illustration: Inc. Art; Getty Images
The Hill & Valley Forum prides itself on bipartisanship, right down to the breakfast spread. Pastries and parfaits lay near wellness shots from Pure Green—a fitting mix for a conference meant to bring together Silicon Valley and Washington. The meal was laid out inside the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, a government‑owned Beaux‑Arts venue with gilded details and 60‑foot ceilings that make the mood feel closer to Rome than Capitol Hill.
Now in its fifth year, Hill & Valley has scaled rapidly. What began as a small dinner between Bay Area and D.C. leaders has grown into a full day of programming that draws more than 1,500 founders, investors, policymakers, and reporters. Consider it neutral grounds for rival venture firms competing for many of the same companies.
This year’s forum coincided with America’s 250th anniversary, and the agenda reflected that scale of ambition. Panels moved deliberately through energy and nuclear power, semiconductors, reindustrialization, and competition with China. It was a clear blueprint for how the U.S. plans to power, build, and defend its economy over the next half‑century, relying on artificial intelligence as the connective tissue tying those sectors together. The unresolved question was whether the current technology could be deployed reliably across defense, energy, manufacturing, and government systems simultaneously.
That gap between aspiration and execution made one absence loom especially large: Anthropic.
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