Google, OpenAI and Anthropic reportedly move to launch Frontier AI Standards Agency without government oversight
The Information reported on September 24 that Google, OpenAI and Anthropic are moving to launch an industry self-regulatory body tentatively named the Standards Authority for Frontier AI (SAFA), and have approached former White House AI policy adviser Sriram Krishnan to serve as CEO.
On September 24, The Information reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Google, OpenAI and Anthropic are advancing the formation of an AI safety standards body tentatively named the Standards Authority for Frontier AI, with a target launch in late 2026 or early 2027. The body would operate independently without government oversight, modelled on the FINRA self-regulatory structure used for U.S. broker-dealers.
SAFA would focus on concrete testing and audit frameworks. Reported measures include supporting third-party safety testing before model deployment, establishing incident reporting rules, setting qualification thresholds for independent auditors, and coordinating with federal agencies on national security matters. The three companies have been meeting in working-group format since July, initially seeking a public-private partnership with federal oversight before stalling over lack of industry consensus and shifting White House priorities.
On leadership, the three companies have approached Sriram Krishnan for the CEO role. Krishnan was previously a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz and served as the White House's senior AI policy adviser from January 2025 to June 2026, where he co-authored the America AI Action Plan. He has publicly opposed creating an FDA-style regulator for AI, arguing such a structure would slow progress. SAFA's design borrows FINRA's template but strips out the SEC layer that supervises FINRA. Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez criticized the proposal as 'a cartel by any other name,' arguing that funders and designers of a regulator being the same companies undermines its legitimacy. The concept traces back to a July 14 public proposal by Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis.