Tech Diplomacy Now: US-UK Tech Deal
New $42-billion “Tech Prosperity Deal” to accelerate joint R&D and secure tech infrastructure in AI, quantum, fusion, and more.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Tech Diplomacy Updates
Top News of the Week
Latest News
Technology Strategy and Policy
Artificial Intelligence
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
Critical Minerals
Synthetic Biology
Quantum
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
Energy and Climate
Opinion and Commentary
The Last Word
Keith Krach Receives America’s Highest Manufacturing Honor
Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue Chairman Keith Krach was awarded the 2025 M. Eugene Merchant Manufacturing Medal by ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers). Krach’s $4.5 trillion impact on global productivity—spanning robotics, automation, e-commerce, digital trust, and semiconductors—represents a 4.3% uplift in global GDP, or $571 for every person on earth, continues to power U.S. leadership.
Read more:
Purdue alumnus Keith Krach receives nation’s highest manufacturing honor – Purdue News, September 16, 2025
The $4.5 Trillion Productivity Architect: How Keith Krach Rewired Trust, Tech, and American Competitiveness – Life & News, September 15, 2025
Michelle Giuda at Anthropic’s Futures Forum: There’s No American AI Dominance Without American Energy Dominance
Michelle Giuda, CEO of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, spoke at Anthropic’s Futures Forum alongside former Senator Roy Blunt, former NSC Senior Director Joshua Hodges, and Hoover Institution Distinguished Visiting Fellow Mike Kuiken. Her message: energy is the foundation of the Trusted Tech Stack. The challenge she posed—how much, and how fast, can America unleash its energy capacity?
Top News of the Week – US-UK Tech Deal
During President Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom, the two countries announced a $42 billion technology agreement that would boost ties between the two partners in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, nuclear power and other fields. This comes as the UK looks for ways to revive its stagnant economy and become a leader in technology.
Key Points:
The “Tech Prosperity Deal” signals a plan by both the United States and the United Kingdom to tie their economies more closely together and to collaborate on the industries and technologies of the future.
The UK also secured commitments of nearly $200 billion worth of investment from U.S. companies.
The two countries have agreed to accelerate AI innovation, expand the use of civil nuclear energy, cooperate on quantum computing, and collaborate on issues like research security, telecom infrastructure, and investment reviews.
More on Background:
The tech prosperity deal is huge. But will the UK reap the benefits? – The Conversation, September 19, 2025
Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Regarding the Technology Prosperity Deal – The White House, September 18, 2025
US firms pledge £150bn investment in UK as tech deal signed – BBC, September 18, 2025
Trump and Starmer Sign ‘Groundbreaking’ Billion-Dollar U.K.-U.S. Tech Prosperity Deal – Time, September 18, 2025
UK and US agree $42 billion tech pact to mark Trump's visit – Reuters, September 17, 2025
Latest News
Further Extending the TikTok Enforcement Delay – The White House, September 16, 2025
Japan’s Prime Minister to Resign After Clinching Tariff Deal – WSJ, September 7, 2025
China Is Using the Private Sector to Advance Military AI – WSJ, September 3, 2025
Xi Wages ‘Memory War’ to Rewrite WWII History with Eye on Taiwan – Bloomberg, September 2, 2025
Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi ‘partners not rivals’ as leaders seek to repair China-India ties – FT, September 2, 2025
Technology Strategy and Policy
Walling Off China – The Wire China, September 7, 2025
Fox in the Henhouse: The U.S. Department of Defense Research and Engineering's Failures to Protect Taxpayer-Funded Defense Research – U.S. House Select Committee on the CCP, September 5, 2025
Pulling Back the Curtain on China’s Military-Civil Fusion – CSET, September 2025
China Is Building a Brain-Computer Interface Industry – Wired, August 28, 2025
Pentagon unit steps up tech ties with allies to counter China – FT, August 27, 2025
Andreessen Horowitz Joins $100 Million Effort to Shape AI Regulation – Bloomberg, August 25, 2025
Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia CEO says he’s ‘disappointed’ after report China has banned its AI chips – CNBC, September 17, 2025
Huawei Unveils AI Chip Roadmap to Challenge Nvidia’s Lead – Bloomberg, September 17, 2025
Anthropic to stop selling AI services to majority Chinese-owned groups – FT, September 4, 2025
Proteintech Launches Able AI to Streamline Antibody Selection – SynBioBeta, September 4, 2025
European VC robotics funding gears up for record 2025 – Pitchbook, September 3, 2025
China Has a Different Vision for AI. It Might Be Smarter. – WSJ, August 30, 2025
Survey: College Students’ Views on AI – Inside Higher Ed, August 29, 2025
China races to embed AI use across major industries with ambitious 2030 target – SCMP, August 27, 2025
Telecommunications Networks and Infrastructure
Red Sea cable cuts disrupt internet across Asia and the Middle East – Reuters, September 7, 2025
Congress pulls the rug on U.S. plan to beat Huawei – Politico, September 2, 2025
Spanish government cancels €10m contract using Huawei equipment – The Record, September 1, 2025
Nokia pushes 5G-Advanced as gateway to 6G, spotlights AI's growing role in networks – DigiTimes Asia, September 1, 2025
Corruption and Control: How Turkmenistan turned internet censorship into a business – TOR Blog, August 27, 2025
FBI warns Chinese hacking campaign has expanded, reaching 80 countries – Washington Post, August 27, 2025
Critical Minerals
EV Makers Line Up at Europe’s Only Rare-Earths Magnets Site – Bloomberg, September 18, 2025
Recycling pioneers race to close the rare earths scrap gap – Reuters, September 15, 2025
Here’s a source for critical minerals — hiding in plain sight – Washington Post, September 1, 2025
China's rare-earth miners back in black after export curbs buoy prices – Nikkei Asia, September 1, 2025
From ore to more: Mineral partnerships for African industrialization – ECFR, August 28, 2025
Beijing builds out REE traceability system – Trivium China, August 26, 2025
China extends rare earth controls to imported material – Minning.com, August 24, 2025
Synthetic Biology
Bravehart, a stealthy startup, looks to China to challenge Bristol Myers heart drug – Biopharma Dive, September 5, 2025
Drugs from China are reshaping biotech. Track the licensing deals here. – Biopharma Dive, September 5, 2025
Immortal Dragons Invests in Frontier Bio: Pioneering 3D Biofabrication for Tissue Engineering – SynBioBeta, September 4, 2025
Pathogen as Policy: Defending Against Chinese Biowarfare – Hudson Institute, September 3, 2025
AstraZeneca bounces back from scandal in China – FT, August 28, 2025
Where Your Medicines Are Made – NYTs, August 23, 2025
Quantum
Quantum router could speed up quantum computers – New Scientist, September 8, 2025
The New Math of Quantum Cryptography – Wired, September 7, 2025
Analog vs. Digital: The Race Is on to Simulate Our Quantum Universe – Quanta Magazine, September 5, 2025
The Prototype: New Mexico Is Building a Quantum Computing Hub – Forbes, September 5, 2025
Advancing America’s Quantum Leadership with Next-Generation Sensors – CNAS, August 27, 2025
Advanced Aerospace Technology
Ukraine's new interceptor drones destroyed 150 of Russia's long-range UAVs in a single night, Zelenskyy says – Business Insider, September 8, 2025
Could Taiwan’s new ‘high-low’ attack drone strategy counter mainland China’s arsenal? – SCMP, September 7, 2025
Trump to reinterpret 1987 missile treaty to sell heavy attack drones abroad – Reuters, September 6, 2025
Navigating the Future of the Drone Industry: Autonomy, AI, and Workforce Transformation – Drone Life, September 5, 2025
Navy Carrier-Based ‘Loyal Wingman’ Drone Development Suddenly Pushes Forward (Updated) – TWZ, September 5, 2025
Semiconductors and Microelectronics
US penalizes two Chinese companies that acquired tools for chipmaker SMIC – Reuters, September 12, 2025
U.S. Curbs TSMC’s Shipments of Chip Supplies to China – WSJ, September 3, 2025
Investors bet on Cambricon to be China’s next AI champion – FT, September 2, 2025
Abu Dhabi’s G42 eyes chip options beyond Nvidia – Semafor, September 1, 2025
Trump Takes Aim at South Korean Chipmakers’ China Operations – NYTs, August 30, 2025
Alibaba Creates AI Chip to Help China Fill Nvidia Void – WSJ, August 29, 2025
US Commerce voids Biden's $7.4 billion semiconductor research grant deal – Reuters, August 25, 2025
Energy and Climate
Russia and China are creating a new axis of energy – Unherd, September 4, 2025
Advanced Nuclear Fuel Market Emerging After US Sets First Delivery – Bloomberg, September 3, 2025
“Heat Beyond Control”: Scientists Recoil As China’s Fusion Reactor Hits 100 Million Degrees In Unprecedented Artificial Sun Achievement – Sustainability Times, August 24, 2025
Opinion and Commentary
Selling AI Chips Won’t Keep China Hooked on U.S. Technology – Janet Egan, Just Security, September 3, 2025
It’s a Strongman’s World and We’re Just Living in It – Hal Brands, Bloomberg, September 2, 2025
Export Controls Failed? China Begs to Differ – Rush Doshi and Chris McGuire, WSJ, September 1, 2025
There's a Stunning Financial Problem with AI Data Centers – Joe Wilkins, Futurism, August 28, 2025
The Last Word
“If there's a conversation about the best of ... AI innovations, and we are not talking about governance, we are not talking about trust, I think we should really count ourselves out then.”
– Navrina Singh, CEO of Credo AI
About: Tech Diplomacy Now
The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue is the world’s preeminent trusted technology accelerator. As the leader of the new category of Tech Diplomacy, the Institute integrates technology expertise, Silicon Valley strategies, and foreign policy tools to build the Global Trusted Tech Network of governments, companies, organizations and individuals to accelerate the innovation and adoption of trusted technology and ensure technology advances freedom.