From 19 to 24 April 2023 State Secretary for Digitalization, Telecommunication and Postal Affairs Florian Tursky together with Member of Parliament (MP) Süleyman Zorba traveled to the Silicon Valley for meetings with representatives of leading technology companies such as Google, Apple, and Meta. Discussions there centered around generative artificial intelligence, a field in which developments are advancing at accelerating speed. While still in California, the State Secretary visited Stanford University, a hub for many of the innovations in Silicon Valley, and met with Austrian Professors Friedrich Prinz and Markus Zechner. They exchanged views on the status quo of AI technology research and applications as well as its challenges and risks. Furthermore, State Secretary Tursky and MP Zorba visited the Infineon office in San Jose, one of the world’s largest chips producers with a factory in Villach, Austria. The discussions there focused on the proposed European Chips Act. The delegation also met with Austrians living in San Francisco and the Bay area, a community of great importance when it comes to spreading Austrian know-how and expertise.

From there, the delegation continued onward to Seattle, Washington, where they visited Amazon’s headquarters. At SpaceX in Redmonton, WA, they discussed Starlink applications in remote regions such as Austria’s Alpine region. State Secretary Tursky was accompanied by Ambassador Petra Schneebauer, Austrian Tech Envoy Isabella Tomás, Austrian Consul General Michael Postl, Austrian Trade Commissioner Daniel Zawarczynski and an Austrian business delegation.