US Lawmakers Query DoorDash Over Chinese AI Model Usage

U.S. lawmakers have intensified their scrutiny of American companies' reliance on Chinese-developed artificial intelligence (AI) models, requesting information and documents from food delivery giant DoorDash (DASH). The letter, sent by the chairmen of the House Homeland Security Committee and the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, raises national security risks and data privacy concerns. This inquiry follows public disclosures regarding DoorDash's use of the Kimi K2.6 model, developed by Chinese AI company Moonshot AI.

The investigation stems from a post by DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang on X (formerly Twitter), where he described the company routing some “lower-level” AI work to Kimi K2.6. DoorDash's own AI research lab also noted that Kimi K2.6 outperformed other Anthropic models previously used, such as Sonnet 4.6 and Opus 4.8, while costing less to operate. This development fuels growing concerns that U.S. companies are turning to Chinese AI models, particularly open-weight ones, due to their cost advantages and greater customization capabilities.

In response to the inquiry, DoorDash stated that it “proudly supports American AI leadership” and is committed to ensuring AI benefits small businesses, not just large corporations. The company expressed its eagerness to engage with the committees on how it safely uses AI, including both American-developed frontier models and open-weight models. This is not an isolated incident for DoorDash; other American companies like Cursor, Airbnb, Coinbase, and Siemens have also received similar requests as part of this broader congressional investigation.

Lawmakers are seeking information on the origins of training data for Chinese AI models, the volume of data transferred to Chinese firms, and the internal risk assessments conducted by companies before adopting these models. U.S. Republicans have highlighted risks, pointing to reports that a Chinese model can now match leading U.S. systems in certain cybersecurity tasks. Newer models from Moonshot AI, such as Kimi K3, are reportedly closing the performance gap with top American models.

These developments are creating general uncertainty in the markets and introducing a new regulatory risk factor, particularly for companies in the technology and delivery sectors. While it is not currently illegal for private U.S. companies to use Chinese AI models, some government agencies have banned specific Chinese-developed AI tools. The increasing congressional oversight puts pressure on companies to balance cost savings with national security concerns.

Analysts and market observers suggest that such inquiries are unlikely to have a direct and severe short-term impact on DoorDash stock (DASH), as this is an information request rather than an enforcement action. However, in the long term, reports that the U.S. administration is considering adding Chinese AI firms to the 'Entity List' could force American companies to re-evaluate their reliance on these models. This situation will underscore the importance of supply chain diversification and risk management strategies within the technology sector.