The move underscores growing tensions between US lawmakers and industry, as Chinese AI models have become increasingly popular among US companies looking to save costs of AI adoption.

House Select Committee on China chairman John Moolenaar and House Committee on Homeland Security chairman Andrew Garbarino sent a letter on Friday to DoorDash co-founder and chief executive Tony Xu, requesting information by August 14 on each Chinese model DoorDash uses and any security tests conducted on those models.

The letter also requests that DoorDash staff “with responsibility for DoorDash’s AI infrastructure, software security, model evaluation, procurement, and legal or compliance review” appear for an in-person briefing with the lawmakers by August 21.

“[The] Committees recognise that US companies, from large technology firms to start-ups, may evaluate and deploy PRC-developed open-weight models because they can provide competitive capabilities, lower costs, greater customisation, and alternatives to reliance on a small number of proprietary model providers,” the letter said.

“Those practical considerations do not eliminate the need for risk-based safeguards or diminish the national security concerns associated with growing dependence on models developed by entities subject to PRC jurisdiction.”