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Governor Newsom signs SB 53, advancing California’s world-leading artificial intelligence industry
What you need to know: Governor Newsom today signed legislation further establishing California as a world leader in safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence, creating a new law that helps the state both boost innovation and protect public safety.
SACRAMENTO — Governor Newsom today signed into law Senate Bill 53, the Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (TFAIA), authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) — legislation carefully designed to enhance online safety by installing commonsense guardrails on the development of frontier artificial intelligence models, helping build public trust while also continuing to spur innovation in these new technologies. The new law builds on recommendations from California’s first-in-the-nation report, called for by Governor Newsom and published earlier this year — and helps advance California’s position as a national leader in responsible and ethical AI, the world’s fourth-largest economy, the birthplace of new technology, and the top pipeline for tech talent.
“California has proven that we can establish regulations to protect our communities while also ensuring that the growing AI industry continues to thrive. This legislation strikes that balance. AI is the new frontier in innovation, and California is not only here for it – but stands strong as a national leader by enacting the first-in-the-nation frontier AI safety legislation that builds public trust as this emerging technology rapidly evolves.”
— Governor Gavin Newsom
California works closely to foster tech leadership and create an environment where industry and talent thrive. The state is balancing its work to advance AI with commonsense laws to protect the public, embracing the technology to make our lives easier and make government more efficient, effective, and transparent. California’s leadership in the AI industry is helping to guide the world in the responsible implementation and use of this emerging technology.
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“Last year Governor Newsom called upon us to study how California should properly approach frontier artificial intelligence development. The Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (TFAIA) moves us towards the transparency and ‘trust but verify’ policy principles outlined in our report. As artificial intelligence continues its long journey of development, more frontier breakthroughs will occur. AI policy should continue emphasizing thoughtful scientific review and keeping America at the forefront of technology.”
Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar Former California Supreme Court Justice and former member of National Academy of Sciences Committee on the Social and Ethical Implications of Computing Research
Dr. Fei-Fei Li Co-Director, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence
Jennifer Tour Chayes Dean of the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society at UC Berkeley
California’s AI Dominance
California continues to dominate the AI sector. In addition to being the birthplace of AI, the state is home to 32 of the 50 top AI companies worldwide. California leads U.S. demand for AI talent. In 2024, 15.7% of all U.S. AI job postings were in California — #1 by state, well ahead of Texas (8.8% and New York (5.8%), per the 2025 Stanford AI Index. In 2024, more than half of global VC funding for AI and machine learning startups went to companies in the Bay Area. California is also home to three of the four companies that have passed the $3 trillion valuation mark. Each of these California-based companies — Google, Apple, and Nvidia — are tech companies involved in AI and have created hundreds of thousands of jobs.
What the Law Does
SB 53 establishes new requirements for frontier AI developers, creating stronger:
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✅ Innovation: Establishes a new consortium within the Government Operations Agency to develop a framework for creating a public computing cluster. The consortium, called CalCompute, will advance the development and deployment of artificial intelligence that is safe, ethical, equitable, and sustainable by fostering research and innovation.
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