[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7968 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7968

    To authorize the Department of Commerce to carry out a study on 
    challenges faced by United States small artificial intelligence 
                  businesses, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 17, 2026

   Mr. Subramanyam (for himself, Mr. Obernolte, and Mr. Gottheimer) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                     Science, Space, and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To authorize the Department of Commerce to carry out a study on 
    challenges faced by United States small artificial intelligence 
                  businesses, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small AI Innovators Empowerment 
Act''.

SEC. 2. STUDY ON CHALLENGES FACED BY SMALL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 
              BUSINESSES.

    (a) In General.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the 
Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Director of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, and in consultation with the 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration, shall seek to enter 
into an agreement with an appropriate entity with relevant expertise, 
as determined by the Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology, which may include a federally funded research and 
development center, to conduct a study on challenges faced by United 
States small artificial intelligence businesses located across the 
United States.
    (b) Elements.--The study under subsection (a) shall include the 
following:
            (1) An analysis of Federal and non-Federal resource funding 
        opportunities for United States small artificial intelligence 
        businesses, including relating to the following:
                    (A) Data on early and seed funding sources.
                    (B) Accessibility of Federal funding opportunities, 
                timeline of receiving such funding, and the impact of 
                physical asset collateral and other loan requirements 
                on United States small artificial intelligence 
                businesses.
                    (C) Availability and use of non-Federal funding 
                opportunities.
            (2) Usage of research and development tax credits, and the 
        impact of tax credit restrictions or changes on United States 
        small artificial intelligence businesses.
            (3) Usage of accelerators and incubators in the process of 
        establishing United States small artificial intelligence 
        businesses.
            (4) An analysis of downstream impacts of Federal policy on 
        United States small artificial intelligence businesses, 
        including an assessment of technology stacks, with 
        consideration of the following:
                    (A) Differences in usage of artificial intelligence 
                tools between United States small artificial 
                intelligence businesses and other businesses across the 
                infrastructure, model, and application layers of the 
                artificial intelligence ecosystem, and the role of 
                access to computing resources, cloud services, and 
                data.
                    (B) Impact of regulatory uncertainty on exit 
                strategies and acquisition opportunities for United 
                States small artificial intelligence businesses.
                    (C) Impact of partnerships with larger firms and 
                competition policy frameworks on opportunities for 
                growth of United States small artificial intelligence 
                businesses.
            (5) An analysis of talent recruitment and retainment 
        challenges faced by United States small artificial intelligence 
        businesses.
            (6) An analysis of any other potential challenges faced by 
        United States small artificial intelligence businesses the 
        Secretary determines appropriate.
            (7) Proposals and recommendations to address any such 
        challenges.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial 
        intelligence'' has the meaning given such term in section 5002 
        of the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 
        (15 U.S.C. 9401).
            (2) United states small artificial intelligence business.--
        The term ``United States small artificial intelligence 
        business'' means a business that creates, develops, or 
        customizes artificial intelligence products or services as its 
        primary business activity and that--
                    (A) is headquartered in the United States;
                    (B) is organized for profit;
                    (C) operates primarily within the United States or 
                makes a significant contribution to the United States 
                economy through payment of taxes or use of American 
                products, materials, or labor;
                    (D) is independently owned and operated, including 
                a business that is backed by private funding, equity 
                financing, or an institutional investor; and
                    (E) employs 250 or fewer people.
            (3) Technology stacks.--The term ``technology stacks'' 
        means the collection of technologies, tools, and infrastructure 
        utilized by such businesses.
                                 <all>