The White House has eliminated high-performance data storage and datacenters from its Critical and Emerging Technologies list, which guides federal policies spanning export controls and R&D priorities.
AI, quantum, photonics, cybersecurity and advanced networking remain on the list, alongside safeguards against adversary-benefiting data transfers.
This adjustment arrives via an updated US National Security Science & Technology Strategy, designed to bolster national economic security, scientific research and innovation in support of core national security goals.
The document centers on S&T competition tied to military capabilities, homeland defense, operational resilience and other key national security intersections.
It shapes federal R&D funding allocation, public-private and ally partnership strategies, workforce and immigration policies, and export controls for critical dual-use technologies.
The strategy highlights transformative technologies including AI and autonomy, biotechnology, and quantum information systems, which deeply impact sensing, communications, computing and data security.
A core objective is to block foreign adversaries from accessing critical technology systems and supply chains.
It prioritizes domestic reshoring and indigenous product development, backed by the Trump Administration’s balanced trade policies, reindustrialization efforts, energy expansion, critical component material substitution, and collaboration with trusted supplier partners.
The guidance directs relevant federal agencies to leverage existing authorities to defend critical tech and supply chain infrastructure — including communications and networking systems — against adversarial access and exploitation.
It also mandates modernized foreign investment screening, plus strengthened and streamlined export controls and cross-border data transfer restrictions.
The updated Critical and Emerging Technologies list covers innovations vital or soon-to-be vital to US national security.
AI and autonomy receive expanded, granular coverage with 12 subcategories, up from 10 in the prior version, reflecting rapid two-year industry progress; the emerging “agent” technology category was entirely absent previously.
By contrast, the legacy advanced computing section has been removed, which formerly included high-performance storage, datacenters, advanced cloud services, and data processing and analytics. The term “datacenter” no longer appears in the revised strategy.
That said, “data management, including storage and security” remains listed under information management and cybersecurity provisions.
Updated communications and networking criteria cover next-generation wireless, optical and fiber technologies, while future computing priorities include photonics, supercomputing and brain-computer interfaces.
The shift raises questions over whether datacenters and storage no longer qualify for federal oversight and regulatory control.
Datacenters remain essential national infrastructure for the US, its allies and global competitors. However, amid tightening shortages of core components like SSDs and RAM — whose top suppliers are largely Western-aligned — the US is temporarily relying on market pricing leverage rather than strict regulatory controls to maintain industry dominance.
Beijing Qianxing Jietong Technology Co., Ltd.
Sandy Yang/Global Strategy Director
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