The Quad pledged more than $85 million in technical and financial assistance to expand access to trusted AI across the Indo-Pacific, according to a joint press release the US State Department issued on October 31. The foreign ministers of the United States, India, Japan and Australia agreed to the package at a meeting in Atlanta, held on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
Part of the money will flow through the Quad's accelerator program. The State Department text calls it the Quad SI Accelerator, using the "Super Intelligence" label the US government now uses in place of "artificial intelligence." A footnote in the release says that in Australia, India and Japan, the term refers to artificial intelligence.
The meeting brought together US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong. It was the group's third foreign ministers' meeting this year, after sessions in New Delhi in May and Manila in July.
Key facts
- 01The Quad pledged more than $85 million in technical and financial assistance for trusted AI access across the Indo-Pacific.
- 02Foreign ministers from the US, India, Japan and Australia met in Atlanta on October 31, 2026, alongside the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
- 03The four countries will launch an effort to identify semiconductor and AI hardware supply-chain chokepoints before they cause disruptions.
- 04The US committed $10 million for facilities in India and ASEAN countries that recover critical minerals from e-waste and scrap.
- 05Quad export credit agencies are scheduled to meet in Tokyo on November 18.
The release does not say how much each country will contribute to the $85 million, which countries will receive support first, or how the funds will be allocated. The ministers tied the AI pledge to economic growth and also highlighted Pax Silica among the initiatives they are backing.
On hardware, the four countries agreed to build secure and trusted supply chains for advanced semiconductors and AI hardware. They will also launch a new effort to identify chokepoints in those supply chains before they cause disruptions.
Telecom networks are part of the same push. The Quad will pick priority countries for cooperation on trusted 5G, 6G, Open RAN and AI-enabled radio access networks, and build a pipeline of trusted 5G projects. Work on mapping digital identity standards continues, and senior Quad cyber officials met in October.
The ministers expressed "grave concerns" about economic coercion, including arbitrary export restrictions, and about non-market practices that create overcapacity in critical industries. The release does not name a country.
On critical minerals, the US committed $10 million to promote infrastructure and facilities in India and ASEAN countries that recover critical minerals from e-waste and scrap. The money falls under the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative Framework announced in May.
The ministers also announced the first Quad Business Leaders' Forum to link governments with industry. Quad export credit agencies, building on a 2024 memorandum of cooperation, are due to meet in Tokyo on November 18.
The ministers said they look forward to the next Quad Leaders' Summit and the next foreign ministers' meeting. No date for the leaders' summit was given.
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