BOSTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump-backed World Liberty Financial is collaborating with a Hong Kong-based venture offering artificial-intelligence models developed by Chinese companies the U.S. administration has flagged for national security concerns.
WorldClaw, founded earlier this year, offers customers access to a suite of AI models and accepts World Liberty’s crypto tokens as payment. The Trump family, through its ownership stake, earns revenue from the use of World Liberty’s tokens.
A Reuters review found that 43 of the 90 models available through WorldClaw’s website, or nearly half, were developed by Alibaba, Baidu, Z.ai and other Chinese technology companies the Trump administration says pose risks to national security and intellectual property. WorldClaw also offers access to dozens of models from U.S. firms such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
There’s nothing illegal about World Liberty’s collaboration with WorldClaw or with WorldClaw’s relationships with the Chinese companies. And such Chinese models, which are typically less expensive, are gaining traction globally, including among U.S. tech companies.
Still, seven experts on Chinese technology, trade and government ethics said the business collaboration — and the potential profits for President Trump through World Liberty — runs counter to his administration’s stance towards Chinese tech companies.
"As the U.S. government tries to respond to the rise and threat of Chinese AI, it seems hypocritical to go out through WorldClaw to use these tools from China to try and make a bunch of money," said Sam Bresnick, a fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
Reuters could not establish the details of World Liberty’s financial arrangements with WorldClaw or how much money the Trump family has made from crypto payments on the platform. The president’s two eldest sons have publicly promoted WorldClaw, and a World Liberty executive has worked as an advisor to WorldClaw.
World Liberty makes money from the use of its USD1 stablecoin, including when WorldClaw users elect it as their mode of payment for access to AI models. Like other U.S. dollar-based stablecoins, USD1 is backed by traditional assets like U.S. Treasury securities so that it maintains a constant value. The Trumps areentitled to a percentage of the interest earned on those assets.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement that “there are no conflicts of interest” in the relationship between World Liberty and WorldClaw and that “President Trump only acts in the best interests of the American public.”
David Wachsman, a spokesman for World Liberty, said WorldClaw was an independent company and noted that major U.S. firms offer AI from Chinese as well as American tech companies. “This is a common and widely accepted approach,” he said in an email.
A WorldClaw spokesperson said in a statement that the company “helps American AI companies reach international users” and that “making a model available does not constitute an endorsement of its developer.”