US: In order to prevent competitors from gaining access to capabilities that reliable partners cannot, Indian American Arvind Krishna, the chairman and CEO of IBM, has urged the Trump Administration to relax limitations on selling cutting-edge American AI systems to friendly nations.

His comments, which he made on Wednesday (local time) at a White House technology roundtable with President Donald Trump, are especially important for India’s rapidly expanding AI ecosystem, which mostly depends on US cloud infrastructure, hardware, and software.

According to Krishna, the US must immediately let its allies to use the whole range of AI technologies developed in the US. In the White House’s Roosevelt Room, the president was sitting next to the CEO of IBM.

“Under the action plans you have outlined, it is crucial that we actively support the development of the AI stack, which encompasses more than just chips. They are really significant. However, he informed Trump, “it’s software, semiconductors, the systems that many of us here build, and the software applications on top.”

He pointed out that existing export restrictions are preventing US companies from implementing AI platforms in important partner markets, particularly on systems that incorporate controlled semiconductor components. “The ability to take certain systems which have semiconductors inside them into these countries… right now, because we have controls on where all the semiconductors can go, then the entire system is restricted,” he said.

Krishna said that rivals were already taking advantage of the gap. “Otherwise, we are afraid that competing countries are going to be able to get that stack,” he said. He asked Washington to keep guardrails in place while removing needless obstacles, saying, “Lower barriers would be very, very helpful.”

In response, Trump said that if necessary, his administration will act swiftly. “We have strategies to swiftly counter it, and I am fully acquainted with every nation. So you’ll inform me,” he said to the head of IBM.

Krishna also praised the administration’s efforts to simplify federal rules, claiming that less red tape helps US business and its international partners, such as development teams headquartered in India. “We really would like to thank you for everything you’re doing for economic growth… and for all the work you’re doing on deregulation and making things easier for business to participate in that growth,” he said.

He emphasized IBM’s efforts on digital modernization with US government agencies, which has traditionally impacted best practices used by Indian business and public-sector customers. “We worked with Commissioner Frank Bisignano to help make Social Security better… and we’ll work with him on making IRS,” Krishna said.

One of the most significant Indian American executives in the world of technology, Krishna has led IBM toward hybrid cloud and enterprise AI platforms that are essential to India’s digital revolution, from telecom and financial services to government, healthcare, and logistics.