Tech CEOs Gather at White House for AI Dinner with Trump

All the President's Tech CEOs

The scene opens confusingly. The camera zooms too close to the president's face; the table at which the tech executives are seated seems far too long. Mark Zuckerberg is there, and Bill Gates and Tim Cook and Satya Nadella and Sam Altman and on and on, a baker's dozen or so of Silicon Valley's most powerful people -- cutthroat competitors all -- united here to pledge allegiance to Donald Trump. The introduction from Trump is characteristically both overgilded and confusing: "It's an honor to be here with this group of people. They're leading a revolution in business and in genius and every other word." And then, about 90 seconds in, the pandering begins. This was Donald Trump's dinner with tech leaders at the State Dining Room in the White House on Thursday evening, broadcast in part for all to see on C-SPAN. It's in many ways a remarkable document, the culmination of months of Big Tech cozying up to the administration. One by one, Trump asked the executives how much they were investing in the United States. One by one, they obliged, praising Trump's leadership along the way. The president has run this play previously with his cabinet members, powerful people tripping over themselves in the race toward Trump's good graces. But there was an eeriness to see that same dynamic among Big Tech's braintrust, like passing a camera around to take turns wishing a distant, unloved uncle a very happy Thanksgiving. "It's going to be something like $600 billion through '28," said Zuckerberg about Meta's domestic infrastructure investments. Sergey Brin congratulated Trump on "applying pressure" in Venezuela, two days after a US drone operator extrajudiciously murdered 11 people on an alleged drug cartel boat. Everyone else praised the administration's AI policy. Microsoft's Nadella shouted out Melania Trump in particular for her leadership in "skilling and economic opportunity that comes with AI."(The first lady launched a Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge last month, and hosted an education-themed AI task force meeting prior to the dinner on Thursday.) Google CEO Sundar Pichai and AMD CEO Lisa Su praised the Trump administration's AI initiatives. "I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we could make a major investment in the United States," said Cook, referring to Apple's pledge to put $600 billion into US manufacturing. Given that Apple made that commitment under threat of crippling tariffs on smartphones, it was a bit like thanking the school bully for setting the tone such that you can give him your lunch money. For enthusiasm it was hard to beat Oracle CEO Safra Catz, who had previously served as a member of Trump's transition team. "You've unleashed American innovation and creativity, all the work you're doing in basically every cabinet post in addition to what's coming out of the White House is making it possible for America to win," Catz said. "I think this is the most exciting time in America ever." And with that, after a quick joke about his rumored demise, Trump opened up the floor to questions from the media. If you watch closely, you can catch Zuckerberg giving someone across the table an eyebrow raise for the ages.

Tech leaders take turns flattering Trump at White House dinner

Several of the most powerful business leaders in the country gathered around a table last night to fawn over President Donald Trump for his AI policies. "You and your policies are really helping a lot," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told the president. AMD CEO Lisa Su praised "the amount of acceleration that we've seen just in the few short months that the administration has been in place." Oracle CEO Safra Catz struck a note of adoration at "the fact that you are our president" and that Trump quickly recognized the importance of AI. "You've unleashed American innovation and creativity -- all the work you're doing in basically every cabinet post in addition to what's coming out of the White House is making it possible for America to win."

Trump to Host Meta's Zuckerberg, Tech CEOs in Redone Rose Garden

Tech industry leaders including Meta Platforms Inc.'s Mark Zuckerberg, Apple Inc.'s Tim Cook, and Microsoft Corp.'s Satya Nadella are expected to attend an artificial intelligence event hosted by First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday and then join President Donald Trump for an evening reception in the newly renovated Rose Garden. Other attendees are expected to include OpenAI Inc.'s Sam Altman, Alphabet Inc.'s Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, a White House official said. Alexandr Wang, who recently joined Meta's AI effort, also is among the invitees.

Trump to host tech CEOs for first event in newly renovated Rose Garden

Sept 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday will host more than two dozen technology and business leaders for a dinner in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden, according to a White House official. The guests include Meta (META.O), opens new tab founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab founder Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the official said. The gathering highlights Trump's complicated but evolving relationship with Silicon Valley and the broader tech industry. Once a source of frequent clashes over issues such as content moderation and antitrust scrutiny, the tech sector has recalibrated since Trump's 2024 election victory. Executives have sought closer ties with the Republican administration, aligning corporate policies with the White House's push to roll back diversity and equity initiatives while courting Trump's favor on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. "The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. The Hill news outlet first reported the event. The Rose Garden renovation, completed in August, replaced the iconic grass lawn with a stone patio and umbrella-covered tables modeled after Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The gathering there is set to take place after CEOs and tech leaders attend a White House event on AI hosted by first lady Melania Trump. Other executives on the guest list include Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab CEO Sundar Pichai, Oracle (ORCL.N), opens new tab CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron Technology (MU.O), opens new tab CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, the White House official said. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, Palantir (PLTR.O), opens new tab Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar and Meta's chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, are also expected. Elon Musk, the Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab and SpaceX chief who served as a Trump adviser before a public split earlier this year, is not on the invite list, the official confirmed. Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jamie Freed Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Autos & Transportation * ADAS, AV & Safety * Software-Defined Vehicle * Sustainable & EV Supply Chain

Trump to host tech CEOs over dinner for inaugural event in renovated Rose Garden

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to the Rose Garden of the White House to hold a signing ceremony for the Take it Down Act, in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 19, 2025. U.S. President Trump will host two dozen high-profile tech and business leaders for an inaugural event in the White House's renovated Rose Garden on Thursday. Invitees include Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and OpenAI founder Sam Altman, according to a list confirmed by a White House official. The meeting is expected to be held over dinner after a separate White House event on artificial intelligence hosted by first lady Melania Trump. The gathering underscores what has been a close but complicated relationship between Trump and the Big Tech sector in his second administration. Many of the aforementioned executives have sought friendlier ties with Trump, often appearing at events alongside the president to announce moves that align with the administration's goals on emerging technologies and American reshoring. Invitees to the event also include other tech leaders, such as OpenAI president Greg Brockman; Google co-founder Sergey Brin; Palantir chief technology officer Shyam Sankar; and co-founder of Scale AI and head of a superintelligence team at Meta, Alexandr Wang. CEOs such as Google's Sundar Pichai, Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Oracle's Safra Catz, and Micron Technology's David Limp have also been invited. Unsurprisingly, David Sacks, a venture capitalist serving as the White House's crypto and AI czar, is expected to be at the event. Jared Isaacman, founder of Shift4, is also expected to attend despite Trump withdrawing his nomination to run NASA in June. Notably, Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who previously served as a special government employee in the first few months of the latest Trump administration and later had a public falling out with the president, was not on the invitation list.

Trump to host top tech CEOs -- except Musk -- at White House dinner Thursday

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump will host a high-powered list of tech CEOs for a dinner at the White House on Thursday night. The guest list is set to include Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a dozen other executives from the biggest artificial intelligence and tech firms, according to the White House. One notable absence from the guest list is Elon Musk, once a close ally of Trump, whom the president tasked with running the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had a public break with Trump earlier this year. The dinner will be held in the Rose Garden, where Trump recently paved over the grassy lawn and set up tables, chairs and umbrellas that look strikingly similar to the outdoor setup at at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. "The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world. The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. The event will follow a meeting of the White House's new Artificial Intelligence Education task force, which first lady Melania Trump will chair. At least some of the attendees at Thursday's dinner are expected to participate in the task force meeting, which aims to develop AI education for American youth. The White House confirmed that the guest list for the dinner is also set to include Google founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and founder Greg Brockman, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar, Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. Isaacman was an associate of Musk whom Trump nominated to lead NASA, only to revoke the nomination around the time of his breakup with Musk. Trump cited the revocation of the nomination as one of the reasons Musk was upset with him and called Isaacman "totally a Democrat." The dinner was first reported Wednesday by The Hill.

Here's what Bill Gates and Satya Nadella told President Trump at the White House tech summit

Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Bill Gates were at the White House on Thursday night, part of a high-profile gathering of tech leaders who combined praise for President Donald Trump with promises to invest in U.S. infrastructure, manufacturing, and artificial intelligence. The discussion felt at times like a high-stakes poker game, with Trump pressing each executive to reveal the size of their bets on America's future, like a dealer asking players to ante up. Nadella told Trump that America's tech leadership depends on innovation and global trust in U.S. technology, praising the administration for creating conditions where "the rest of the world can not only use our technology, but trust our technology more than any other alternative." The Microsoft CEO also highlighted AI education and workforce training as "perhaps the most defining issue" for the future, thanking First Lady Melania Trump for putting skilling and opportunity at the center of the administration's AI push. Gates focused on what he called his "second career" of philanthropy, linking it back to the innovation that defined his years at Microsoft. He told Trump that AI could help accelerate progress in global health -- acting as "a doctor for everyone in Africa," giving farmers better advice, and expanding opportunities for children to learn. He compared the potential of AI-driven health innovation to the government's Operation Warp Speed vaccine program, saying the U.S. could take "the seeds" of research in areas like HIV and sickle cell disease and, with the right support, "put them together" to achieve breakthroughs much as it did with COVID-19 vaccines. Gates did not reference the congressional hearing earlier in the day with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Health and Human Services secretary who has voiced skepticism about vaccines and clashed with public health officials over U.S. immunization policy. Later, when the discussion was opened up to reporters, Trump was asked if he had confidence in Kennedy. Trump described Kennedy as "a very good person" with some "different ideas," adding that he liked the fact "he's different." Others at the table included OpenAI's Sam Altman; AMD CEO Lisa Su; Apple's Tim Cook; Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg; Google's Sundar Pichai and Sergey Brin. The roundtable discussion felt like "passing a camera around to take turns wishing a distant, unloved uncle a very happy Thanksgiving," in Wired's estimation. Earlier in the day, companies made a series of announcements in conjunction with the White House AI Education Task Force meeting. * Microsoft offered 12 months of free Microsoft 365 with Copilot to every U.S. college student, expanded access for schools, and $1.25 million in educator prizes as part of the Presidential AI Challenge. * Amazon pledged to train 4 million learners and 10,000 educators by 2028, backed by $30 million in AWS credits and $1.5 million in cash prizes related to the AI Challenge. * Google committed $1 billion over three years for education and job training, including $150 million for AI education, free access to its Gemini for Education model in every U.S. high school, and an accelerator expansion to 200 colleges. * IBM said it plans to train 2 million American workers in AI skills over the next three years through its IBM SkillsBuild program. * Code.org will engage 25 million learners in the "Hour of AI" this school year, build AI pathways in 25 states, and launch a free high school AI course for 400,000 students by 2028. Watch the video of the roundtable discussion above.

Bill Gates, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg got the invite. Elon Musk? Left off Trump's star-studded Rose Garden dinner guest list

The guest list is set to include Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a dozen other executives from the biggest artificial intelligence and tech firms, according to the White House. One notable absence from the guest list is Elon Musk, once a close ally of Trump, whom the Republican president tasked with running the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had a public breakup with Trump earlier this year. The dinner will be held in the Rose Garden, where Trump recently paved over the grassy lawn and set up tables, chairs and umbrellas that look strikingly similar to the outdoor setup at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. "The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. "The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio." The event will follow a meeting of the White House's new Artificial Intelligence Education task force, which first lady Melania Trump will chair. "During this primitive stage, it is our duty to treat AI as we would our own children -- empowering, but with watchful guidance," she said in a statement. "We are living in a moment of wonder, and it is our responsibility to prepare America's children." At least some of the attendees at the president's Thursday's dinner are expected to participate in the task force meeting, which aims to develop AI education for American youths. The White House confirmed that the guest list for the dinner is also set to include Google founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and founder Greg Brockman, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar, Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. Isaacman was an associate of Musk whom Trump nominated to lead NASA, only to revoke the nomination around the time of his breakup with Musk. Trump cited the revocation of the nomination as one of the reasons Musk was upset with him and called Isaacman "totally a Democrat." The dinner was first reported Wednesday by The Hill.

Donald Trump Snubs Elon Musk Yet Again, Invites All of His Biggest Competitors to the White House

Musk's biggest competitors were invited to the White House -- but he wasn't. President Donald Trump is throwing a major party in the White House's recently paved-over Rose Garden for some of the biggest names in tech -- but billionaire Elon Musk's name isn't on the list. As The Hill first reported, the upcoming event will see high-profile tech executives swing by for a visit, including Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The event will take place following a meeting of the White House's new Artificial Intelligence Education task force, which is chaired by first lady Melania Trump. While Musk won't be part of the proceedings, his longtime collaborator and private SpaceX astronaut Jared Isaacman will be on the guest list. Musk had recommended Isaacman for the role of NASA administrator, but the nomination was suddenly withdrawn earlier this summer following the escalation of a bitter feud between the SpaceX CEO and Trump. David Limp, the CEO of SpaceX competitor Blue Origin, is also on the guest list, further highlighting Musk's glaring omission. The news comes a day after Trump called Musk a "good man" during a Scott Jennings Show interview, though hedging out that he has "some problems." "And when he works out the 20 percent [of problems], he'll be great, but he's got some difficulty," Trump said of Musk, arguing that he has "no choice" but to return to the Republican Party. Last month, Musk, who founded AI startup xAI, sued Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of unfairly favoring the ChatGPT maker in the App Store. Now, leaders of both companies are invited to attend an AI-focused event at the White House -- and Musk isn't on the list. Musk's relationship with Trump took a major turn for the worse in June when the mercurial CEO blasted the president's so-called "big, beautiful bill," describing it as a "disgusting abomination." He's also vowed to create his own "America Party" in a declaration of war on Republicans, though there hasn't been any evidence to suggest that such a plan is currently in the works.

US tech titans pay hommage to Trump at White House dinner

Washington (AFP) - Tech world executives showered Donald Trump with praise Thursday during a rare dinner that saw the US president host some of the most important players in AI at the White House. "This is quite a group to get together," said Meta chief and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, who was seated at Trump's right side. At the table were heads of major tech companies including Google-parent Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft and artificial intelligence star OpenAI. Some of those at the dinner had attended Trump's inauguration, signalling they were ready to fall in line with the 79-year-old president's world view -- or at least seek to avoid his ire. Notably absent from the dinner was multi-billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk, a former Trump ally who had a spectacular falling out with the president. The chief of Tesla and SpaceX put out word in a post on his X social network that he had been invited to the dinner but couldn't attend, sending someone to represent him. Companies at the dinner were making huge investments in US data centers and infrastructure to "power the next wave of innovation", Zuckerberg said. Apple chief executive Tim Cook voiced thanks for Trump "setting the tone" for the companies to make major investments in US manufacturing. Trump recently threatened trade sanctions against countries that apply regulations to US tech companies, aiming particularly at the European Union. "Thank you for being such a pro-business, pro-innovation president," said OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. "It's a refreshing change." Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, seated next to First Lady Melania Trump, was less effusive, calling for artificial intelligence to be used to promote international development. "It's great we all get together and talk about how the United States could lead in this key area and apply it even to the poorest outside the US, as well as to our great citizens," said the Microsoft legend turned philanthropist. Gates cited Operation Warp Speed, Trump's first term initiative which saw the rapid development of Covid-19 vaccines, as an example of America's capacity for innovation. Since taking office in January, Trump has cut international aid and ended investments in the kinds of vaccines deployed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Silicon Valley leaders who did not support Trump during his first term in office changed course with his return to office. Many have visited the White House to promise heavy investment in the United States, and some have been quick to follow the US president's lead in ending diversity promotion programs and initiatives to combat online misinformation.

Elon Musk absent from Trump's White House dinner with US tech leaders

Trump hosted tech leaders at the White House to discuss domestic investments and room for further development in an unexpected dinner which snubbed former aide and chief of Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk. US President Donald Trump hosted a group of tech executives at the White House on Thursday for dinner, but one name was notably absent from the guest list, Tesla, SpaceX and X boss Elon Musk. Musk, once a close ally of Trump's, and who was previously tasked with leading a new government agency designed to cutback on waste federal spending, did not appear to make the exclusive cut of senior tech leaders. The pair have not been on good standing since their highly public feud earlier this year over disagreements on Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill', which Musk called "idiotic", arguing that it will push federal expenditure and debt levels to new heights. Musk later intensified the row with Trump, taking to X to accuse Trump of deliberately concealing disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's files to cover up his own involvement with the convicted sex offender. Instead of Musk, Sam Altman, who heads OpenAI, the company responsible for ChatGPT, and one of Musk's biggest rivals in the rapidly advancing artificial intelligence (AI) space, was present. In another reflection of shifting loyalties in Trump's world, the dinner included Jared Isaacman, who founded the payment processing company Shift4. Isaacman was a Musk ally chosen by Trump to lead NASA, only to have his nomination withdrawn because he was, in Trump's words, "totally a Democrat." Trump showcased research on AI and boasted of investments that companies are making around the United States. "This is taking our country to a new level," he said at the centre of a long table surrounded by what he described as "high IQ people." The dinner was the latest example of a delicate relationship between Trump and tech leaders, several of whom attended his inauguration. Trump has exulted in the attention from some of the world's most successful businesspeople, while the companies are eager to remain on the good side of the mercurial president. While the executives praised Trump and talked about their hopes for technological advancement in the country, the Republican president was more focused on money. He went around the table and asked executives how much they were investing in the country. Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, who flanked Trump on the right, said $600 billion (€514 billion), while Apple's chief executive Tim Cook, said the same. Alphabet CEO - of which Google is a subsidiary to - Sundar Pichai said his company was investing $250 billion (€214.2 billion). After deliberately seeking them out in his questioning, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the Seattle-based tech giant is investing up to $80 billion (€68.5 billion) per annum. "That's a big number," Trump responded. "Good, Very good." Some of the other notable names who attended Thursday's dinner include IBM chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna and Code.org President Cameron Wilson were among those participating in the task force. The White House confirmed that the guest list for the dinner also included Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Google founder Sergey Brin, OpenAI founder Greg Brockman, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar and Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang.

Trump will host top tech CEOs except Musk at a White House dinner

WASHINGTON -- WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump will host a high-powered list of tech CEOs for a dinner at the White House on Thursday night. The guest list is set to include Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a dozen other executives from the biggest artificial intelligence and tech firms, according to the White House. One notable absence from the guest list is Elon Musk, once a close ally of Trump, whom the Republican president tasked with running the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had a public breakup with Trump earlier this year. The dinner will be held in the Rose Garden, where Trump recently paved over the grassy lawn and set up tables, chairs and umbrellas that look strikingly similar to the outdoor setup at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. "The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. "The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio." The event will follow a meeting of the White House's new Artificial Intelligence Education task force, which first lady Melania Trump will chair. "During this primitive stage, it is our duty to treat AI as we would our own children -- empowering, but with watchful guidance," she said in a statement. "We are living in a moment of wonder, and it is our responsibility to prepare America's children." At least some of the attendees at the president's Thursday's dinner are expected to participate in the task force meeting, which aims to develop AI education for American youths. The White House confirmed that the guest list for the dinner is also set to include Google founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and founder Greg Brockman, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar, Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. Isaacman was an associate of Musk whom Trump nominated to lead NASA, only to revoke the nomination around the time of his breakup with Musk. Trump cited the revocation of the nomination as one of the reasons Musk was upset with him and called Isaacman "totally a Democrat." The dinner was first reported Wednesday by The Hill.

Trump to host top tech CEOs -- except Musk -- at White House dinner

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump will host a high-powered list of tech CEOs for a dinner at the White House on Thursday night. The guest list is set to include Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a dozen other executives from the biggest artificial intelligence and tech firms, according to the White House. One notable absence from the guest list is Elon Musk, once a close ally of Trump, whom the president tasked with running the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had a public break with Trump earlier this year. The dinner will be held in the Rose Garden, where Trump recently paved over the grassy lawn and set up tables, chairs and umbrellas that look strikingly similar to the outdoor setup at at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. "The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world. The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. The event will follow a meeting of the White House's new Artificial Intelligence Education task force, which first lady Melania Trump will chair. At least some of the attendees at Thursday's dinner are expected to participate in the task force meeting, which aims to develop AI education for American youth. The White House confirmed that the guest list for the dinner is also set to include Google founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and founder Greg Brockman, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar, Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. Isaacman was an associate of Musk whom Trump nominated to lead NASA, only to revoke the nomination around the time of his breakup with Musk. Trump cited the revocation of the nomination as one of the reasons Musk was upset with him and called Isaacman "totally a Democrat." The dinner was first reported Wednesday by The Hill.

Trump basks in tech leaders' spending vows at White House dinner

WASHINGTON -- Meta Platforms' Mark Zuckerberg and Apple's Tim Cook joined tech industry leaders in touting their pledges to boost spending in the U.S. on artificial intelligence during a dinner hosted by President Donald Trump that highlighted his deepening relationship with Silicon Valley. In his opening remarks, Trump addressed a key concern of tech companies: ensuring there's enough energy to meet surging power demands from the data centers behind the AI boom. "We're making it very easy for you in terms of electric capacity and getting it for you, getting your permits," Trump said in the White House State Dining Room. "We're leading China by a lot, by a really, by a great amount." Thursday's dinner marked a rare gathering in Washington of top executives and founders from some of the world's most valuable tech companies -- all vying for an edge in the emerging field of AI. Attendees also included OpenAI's Sam Altman, Alphabet's Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin, and Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Bill Gates. The president went around the table asking executives to talk about their plans. Corporate leaders took turns highlighting their efforts to expand in the U.S., with each expressing gratitude for administration policies they see as bolstering efforts to advance AI. Trump asked Zuckerberg to speak first. "All of the companies here are building, just making huge investments in the country in order to build out data centers and infrastructure to power the next wave of innovation," the Meta CEO told Trump. Pressed by the president on how much his company was investing, Zuckerberg said "at least $600 billion" through 2028. "That's a lot," Trump said. In recent days, the president has touted a massive data center Meta is building in Louisiana that will cost $50 billion. Trump has drawn tech executives into his orbit with an agenda aimed at lowering tax and regulatory burdens for business in a bid to ramp up investments in the U.S. and secure the country's dominance in cutting-edge tech sectors. The burgeoning artificial intelligence field has been a centerpiece of that focus. Trump's White House AI czar, Silicon Valley venture capitalist David Sacks, in July helped unveil a sweeping action plan calling for easing regulation of artificial intelligence, stepping up research and development, and boosting domestic energy production to fuel energy-hungry data centers -- all to ensure the U.S. keeps an edge over rivals such as China. The president has secured billions in corporate commitments to drive construction of AI infrastructure. On Thursday, the White House hailed Hitachi Energy's announcement that it planned to invest more than $1 billion in electric grid infrastructure that could support AI's growing power demands. More broadly, companies have announced plans to bolster U.S. investment as they look to avoid tariffs Trump is placing on imports to spur a shift toward domestic manufacturing of critical goods. Trump has indicated that some companies that commit to building in the U.S. could get a break from some tariffs. Cook, whose company last month committed to spending an additional $100 billion on domestic manufacturing for a total pledge of $600 billion, thanked Trump for "setting the tone such that we could make a major investment." The president indicated that Cook's investment promise would help spare Apple from tariffs on semiconductor imports that the administration has plans to impose. "Tim Cook would be in pretty good shape," Trump said. Trump's relationship with Silicon Valley took wing at his swearing-in ceremony in January, when Zuckerberg, Cook and Pichai each had prominent seats after having donated millions toward the inauguration. Trump and his allies will be eager to tap those pockets again ahead of next year's midterm elections to determine control of Congress. Earlier Thursday, many of the same executives joined first lady Melania Trump for a discussion on AI, where she hailed the business leaders as visionaries and urged their cooperation in helping responsibly guide the broader adoption of AI technology. The first lady sat next to Trump during the White House dinner. Other attendees at the evening event included Oracle Corp. CEO Safra Catz and Lisa Su, the CEO of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. The dinner was originally intended to be held in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden, where Trump installed stone pavers and furnished the space with patio tables and a sound system after complaining that the previous grass surface was unsuitable for large events. But inclement weather forced officials to move the event inside.

Trump will host top tech CEOs at a White House dinner. Musk won't be there

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump will host a high-powered list of tech CEOs for a dinner at the White House on Thursday night. The guest list is set to include Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a dozen other executives from the biggest artificial intelligence and tech firms, according to the White House. One notable absence from the guest list is Elon Musk, once a close ally of Trump, whom the Republican president tasked with running the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had a public breakup with Trump earlier this year. The dinner will be held in the Rose Garden, where Trump recently paved over the grassy lawn and set up tables, chairs and umbrellas that look strikingly similar to the outdoor setup at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. "The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. "The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio." The event will follow a meeting of the White House's new Artificial Intelligence Education task force, which first lady Melania Trump will chair. "During this primitive stage, it is our duty to treat AI as we would our own children -- empowering, but with watchful guidance," she said in a statement. "We are living in a moment of wonder, and it is our responsibility to prepare America's children. The White House confirmed that the guest list for the dinner is also set to include Google founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and founder Greg Brockman, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar, Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. Isaacman was an associate of Musk whom Trump nominated to lead NASA, only to revoke the nomination around the time of his breakup with Musk. Trump cited the revocation of the nomination as one of the reasons Musk was upset with him and called Isaacman "totally a Democrat." The dinner was first reported Wednesday by The Hill. Trump's outreach to top tech executives could deepen emerging divides within the Republican Party. One of Trump's closest allies in Congress, Sen. Josh Hawley, delivered a sharp criticism of the tech industry during a speech at a conservative conference in Washington on Thursday morning. He criticized the lack of regulation around artificial intelligence and singled out Meta and ChatGPT. The Missouri senator also blasted a recent congressional effort that nearly passed which would have barred states and local governments from regulating AI for ten years. Trump, meanwhile, has criticized states for holding back AI innovation with regulations. Hawley accused conservatives of pushing to abandon states' rights "all in the name of what? Big tech?" "The government should inspect all of these frontier AI systems so we can better understand what the tech titans plan to build and destroy," Hawley added. At least some of the attendees at the president's dinner are expected to participate in the task force meeting, which aims to develop AI education for American youths. Last month, the first lady launched a nationwide contest for students in grades K-12 to use AI to complete a project or address a community challenge. The project was aimed at showing benefits of AI, while Trump has also highlighted its drawbacks. Melania Trump lobbied Congress this year to pass legislation that imposes penalties for online sexual exploitation using imagery that is real or an AI-generated deepfake. The president signed the "Take It Down Act" in May. ___ Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.

Trump to Host Tech CEOs for First Event in Newly Renovated Rose Garden

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday will host more than two dozen technology and business leaders for a dinner in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden, according to a White House official. The guests include Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the official said. The gathering highlights Trump's complicated but evolving relationship with Silicon Valley and the broader tech industry. Once a source of frequent clashes over issues such as content moderation and antitrust scrutiny, the tech sector has recalibrated since Trump's 2024 election victory. Executives have sought closer ties with the Republican administration, aligning corporate policies with the White House's push to roll back diversity and equity initiatives while courting Trump's favor on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. "The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. The Hill news outlet first reported the event. The Rose Garden renovation, completed in August, replaced the iconic grass lawn with a stone patio and umbrella-covered tables modeled after Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The gathering there is set to take place after CEOs and tech leaders attend a White House event on AI hosted by first lady Melania Trump. Other executives on the guest list include Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, the White House official said. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar and Meta's chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, are also expected. Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief who served as a Trump adviser before a public split earlier this year, is not on the invite list, the official confirmed. (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jamie Freed)

Trump to Host Top Tech CEOs -- Except Musk -- at White House Dinner Thursday

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump will host a high-powered list of tech CEOs for a dinner at the White House on Thursday night. The guest list is set to include Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a dozen other executives from the biggest artificial intelligence and tech firms, according to the White House. One notable absence from the guest list is Elon Musk, once a close ally of Trump, whom the president tasked with running the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had a public break with Trump earlier this year. The dinner will be held in the Rose Garden, where Trump recently paved over the grassy lawn and set up tables, chairs and umbrellas that look strikingly similar to the outdoor setup at at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. "The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world. The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. The event will follow a meeting of the White House's new Artificial Intelligence Education task force, which first lady Melania Trump will chair. At least some of the attendees at Thursday's dinner are expected to participate in the task force meeting, which aims to develop AI education for American youth. The White House confirmed that the guest list for the dinner is also set to include Google founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and founder Greg Brockman, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar, Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. Isaacman was an associate of Musk whom Trump nominated to lead NASA, only to revoke the nomination around the time of his breakup with Musk. Trump cited the revocation of the nomination as one of the reasons Musk was upset with him and called Isaacman "totally a Democrat." The dinner was first reported Wednesday by The Hill.

This CEO Will Not Be Joining Trump's Tech Dinner Tonight

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump will host a high-powered list of tech CEOs for a dinner at the White House on Thursday night. The guest list is set to include Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a dozen other executives from the biggest artificial intelligence and tech firms, according to the White House. One notable absence from the guest list is Elon Musk, once a close ally of Trump, whom the Republican president tasked with running the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had a public breakup with Trump earlier this year. The dinner will be held in the Rose Garden, where Trump recently paved over the grassy lawn and set up tables, chairs and umbrellas that look strikingly similar to the outdoor setup at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. "The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. "The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio." The event will follow a meeting of the White House's new Artificial Intelligence Education task force, which first lady Melania Trump will chair. "During this primitive stage, it is our duty to treat AI as we would our own children -- empowering, but with watchful guidance," she said in a statement. "We are living in a moment of wonder, and it is our responsibility to prepare America's children." At least some of the attendees at the president's Thursday's dinner are expected to participate in the task force meeting, which aims to develop AI education for American youths. The White House confirmed that the guest list for the dinner is also set to include Google founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and founder Greg Brockman, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar, Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. Isaacman was an associate of Musk whom Trump nominated to lead NASA, only to revoke the nomination around the time of his breakup with Musk. Trump cited the revocation of the nomination as one of the reasons Musk was upset with him and called Isaacman "totally a Democrat." The dinner was first reported Wednesday by The Hill. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The final deadline for the 2025 Inc. Best in Business Awards is Friday, September 12, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.

Trump will host top tech CEOs except Musk at a White House dinner - The Economic Times

The guest list is set to include Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a dozen other executives from the biggest artificial intelligence and tech firms, according to the White House.President Donald Trump will host a high-powered list of tech CEOs for a dinner at the White House on Thursday night. The guest list is set to include Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a dozen other executives from the biggest artificial intelligence and tech firms, according to the White House. One notable absence from the guest list is Elon Musk, once a close ally of Trump, whom the Republican president tasked with running the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had a public breakup with Trump earlier this year. The dinner will be held in the Rose Garden, where Trump recently paved over the grassy lawn and set up tables, chairs and umbrellas that look strikingly similar to the outdoor setup at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. "The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. "The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio." The event will follow a meeting of the White House's new Artificial Intelligence Education task force, which first lady Melania Trump will chair. "During this primitive stage, it is our duty to treat AI as we would our own children - empowering, but with watchful guidance," she said in a statement. "We are living in a moment of wonder, and it is our responsibility to prepare America's children." At least some of the attendees at the president's Thursday's dinner are expected to participate in the task force meeting, which aims to develop AI education for American youths. The White House confirmed that the guest list for the dinner is also set to include Google founder Sergey Brin and CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and founder Greg Brockman, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive, Palantir executive Shyam Sankar, Scale AI founder and CEO Alexandr Wang and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. Isaacman was an associate of Musk whom Trump nominated to lead NASA, only to revoke the nomination around the time of his breakup with Musk. Trump cited the revocation of the nomination as one of the reasons Musk was upset with him and called Isaacman "totally a Democrat." The dinner was first reported Wednesday by The Hill.

Trump to host tech CEOs for first event in newly renovated Rose Garden - The Economic Times

The guests include Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the official said.US President Donald Trump on Thursday will host more than two dozen technology and business leaders for a dinner in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden, according to a White House official. The guests include Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the official said. The gathering highlights Trump's complicated but evolving relationship with Silicon Valley and the broader tech industry. Once a source of frequent clashes over issues such as content moderation and antitrust scrutiny, the tech sector has recalibrated since Trump's 2024 election victory. Executives have sought closer ties with the Republican administration, aligning corporate policies with the White House's push to roll back diversity and equity initiatives while courting Trump's favor on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. "The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. The Hill news outlet first reported the event. The Rose Garden renovation, completed in August, replaced the iconic grass lawn with a stone patio and umbrella-covered tables modeled after Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The gathering there is set to take place after CEOs and tech leaders attend a White House event on AI hosted by first lady Melania Trump. Other executives on the guest list include Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, the White House official said. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar and Meta's chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, are also expected. Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief who served as a Trump adviser before a public split earlier this year, is not on the invite list, the official confirmed.

At White House dinner, Trump lauds Nadella, Pichai amid praises from executives - The Economic Times

Trump hosted a power-packed cohort of technology executives for dinner at the White House on Thursday, saying the "high IQ group" is leading a revolution in business.US President Donald Trump has applauded Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google chief Sundar Pichai for their work, while the two Indian-American technology executives thanked him for his leadership and praised him for his policies for the tech and AI sectors. Trump hosted a power-packed cohort of technology executives for dinner at the White House on Thursday, saying the "high IQ group" is leading a revolution in business. "The most brilliant people are gathered around this table. This is definitely a high IQ group and I'm very proud of them," Trump said, sitting at the centre of a long table and flanked by First Lady Melania Trump, Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on one side and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the other. Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook sat across the table from Trump, while Nadella was seated toward one end of the table. "It's an honour to be here with this group of people. They're leading a revolution in business and in genius and in every other work you can imagine," Trump said Thursday. After making opening remarks, Trump invited the technology leaders sitting at the table to share their thoughts. In his brief comments, Pichai said that the "AI moment is one of the most transformative moments any of us have ever seen or will see in our lifetimes. So making sure the US is at the forefront." Pichai said the Trump administration is investing a lot in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and termed the 'AI Action Plan', unveiled in July by the White House, as a "great start". "We look forward to working together. And thanks for your leadership," Pichai said to Trump. "Great job you're doing. Incredible, really," Trump told Pichai. Turning to Nadella, Trump said the Microsoft chief "has done a pretty good job" and added that he owned the Microsoft stock that has gone from USD 28 to now over USD 500. "What a job you've done," Trump said to Nadella. Nadella thanked Trump "for bringing us all together" and for the policies he has put in place for the United States to lead in the sector. Nadella said that it is not just innovation that makes the industry unique, "but it's the market access that you (Trump) have obviously championed for us all over the world and also the trust the world has in American technology. "I think that everything that you are doing in terms of setting in place the platform where the rest of the world can not only use our technology, but trust our technology more than any other alternative, is perhaps the most important issue, and you and your policies are really helping a lot," Nadella said. The Microsoft chief also expressed gratitude to the First Lady for "hosting what I think is perhaps the most defining issue, which is about skilling and economic opportunity that comes with AI." Trump lauded Nadella, saying "A really amazing job you've done." Earlier, First Lady Melania hosted a meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education alongside members of the Task Force and private sector leaders from American industry. Among the technology leaders participating in the task force meeting were Pichai and IBM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna. Speaking after Nadella, Gates remarked that he is in the second phase of his career "giving away all the wonderful money that Satya's good work has helped multiply a lot," prompting a laugh from Trump. Trump asked Pichai about how much Google is investing in the US, to which the India-born CEO replied that the company will invest 250 billion dollars in the next two years in the country. "It's great. We are proud of you. A lot of jobs," Trump said to Pichai. The President then asked Nadella about Microsoft's investment plans in the country, to which the Hyderabad-born tech leader said that the company is investing about 75-80 billion dollars each year in the US. "Very good, thank you very much," Trump said to Nadella. Later, Trump, responding to questions from the media at the event, repeated his claim that he "settled" seven wars but did not mention the conflicts by name. Then he went on to say that he settled three wars that had been going on for 31, 34 and 37 years. He also said he would be speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future. "We are having a very good dialogue," Trump said. Among the leaders attending the White House dinner were Google founder Sergey Brin, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Oracle CEO Safra Catz.

Trump hosts tech titans - but not Musk - at White House dinner

US President Donald Trump hosted a high-powered group of tech executives at the White House on Thursday as he showcased research on artificial intelligence and boasted of investments that companies are making around the United States. "This is taking our country to a new level," he said at the centre of a long table surrounded by what he described as "high IQ people". It was the latest example of a delicate two-way courtship between Trump and tech leaders, several of whom attended his inauguration. Trump has exulted in the attention from some of the world's most successful businesspeople, while the companies are eager to remain on the good side of the mercurial president. While the executives praised Trump and talked about their hopes for technological advancement, the Republican president was focused on dollar signs. He went around the table and asked executives how much they were investing in the country. Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, who sat to Trump's right, said USD 600 billion. Apple's Tim Cook said the same. Google's Sundar Pichai said USD 250 billion. "What about Microsoft?" Trump said. "That's a big number." CEO Satya Nadella said it was up to USD 80 billion per year. "Good," Trump responded. "Very good." Notably absent from the guest list was Elon Musk, once a close ally of Trump who was tasked with running the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk had a public breakup with Trump earlier this year. At the table instead was one of Musk's rivals in artificial intelligence, Sam Altman of OpenAI. In another reflection of shifting loyalties in Trump's world, the dinner included Jared Isaacman, who founded the payment processing company Shift4. Isaacman was a Musk ally chosen by Trump to lead NASA, only to have his nomination withdrawn because he was, in Trump's words, "totally a Democrat". The dinner was expected to be held in the Rose Garden, where Trump recently paved over the grassy lawn and set up tables, chairs and umbrellas that look strikingly similar to the outdoor setup at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. But because of inclement weather, officials decided to move the event to the White House State Dining Room. The event followed an afternoon meeting of the White House's new Artificial Intelligence Education task force, which first lady Melania Trump chaired and some tech leaders participated. "The robots are here. Our future is no longer science fiction," she said. Pichai, IBM chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna and Code.org President Cameron Wilson were among those participating in the task force. The White House confirmed that the guest list for the dinner also included Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates; Google founder Sergey Brin; OpenAI founder Greg Brockman; Oracle CEO Safra Catz; Blue Origin CEO David Limp; Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra; TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive; Palantir executive Shyam Sankar; Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang; and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. Trump's outreach to top tech executives has occasionally been divisive within the Republican Party. One of Trump's closest allies in Congress, Senator Josh Hawley, delivered a sharp criticism of the tech industry during a speech at a conservative conference in Washington on Thursday morning. He criticised the lack of regulation around artificial intelligence and singled out Meta and ChatGPT. "The government should inspect all of these frontier AI systems so we can better understand what the tech titans plan to build and destroy," the Missouri senator said. Trump has embraced AI-created imagery and frequently shares it online, despite his complaints earlier in the week about the technology being used to create misleading videos. Late Wednesday night, he posted a string of AI-generated memes and videos, such as one depicting him interacting with the man pictured in the Cracker Barrel logo, one showing California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff with an extremely elongated neck, and one with Trump's face superimposed on a pole vaulter as it appears to leap over a Cracker Barrel banner. On Tuesday, Trump said a video showing items being thrown out of an upstairs window of the White House must have been created by AI, despite his team seeming to have confirmed the video's veracity hours earlier. Trump then said, "If something happens that's really bad, maybe I'll have to just blame AI." The first lady, at her event Thursday, likewise highlighted both the potential and peril of AI. "As leaders and parents, we must manage AI's growth responsibly," she said, calling for both action and caution "During this primitive stage, it is our duty to treat AI as we would our own children - empowering, but with watchful guidance." Last month, the first lady launched a nationwide contest for students in grades K-12 to use AI to complete a project or address a community challenge. The project was aimed at showing the benefits of AI, but the first lady has also highlighted its drawbacks. Melania Trump lobbied Congress this year to pass legislation that imposes penalties for online sexual exploitation using imagery that is real or an AI-generated deepfake. The president signed the "Take It Down Act" in May. (AP)

Why did Elon Musk not attend Trump's dinner with high-profile tech CEOs? Tesla CEO has this to say

President Trump held a big White House dinner with top tech CEOs to talk about AI and U.S. investments. Leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, and Bill Gates joined the event. Elon Musk was missing, saying he could not attend. The meeting showed how Silicon Valley is now working more closely with Trump's administration. President Donald Trump hosted a dinner at the White House on Thursday for 33 top Silicon Valley leaders, including Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Bill Gates, and Sam Altman. The dinner was held in the newly renovated Rose Garden and highlighted the tech industry's growing cooperation with Trump's administration on AI and technology policies Though Trump's former confidant Musk -- out of favour with the White House -- was an absentee, a string of CEOs, venture capitalists, and administration officials attended the event. Also, the 13 billionaires and plethora of millionaires did make it one of the richest assemblies in White House history. He said on social media that he "was invited, but unfortunately could not attend", as per the Fortune report. Initial reports suggested Musk might not have been on the guest list, while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also skipped the event, preferring private meetings. Earlier that day, first lady Melania Trump hosted an AI education summit, and the dinner was the first major event in the renovated Rose Garden since August 2025. The dinner emphasized Silicon Valley's strategic shift toward cooperating with the Trump administration to secure government contracts and favorable regulations, especially in AI. Several companies announced large U.S. investment commitments. For example, Mark Zuckerberg said Meta will invest $600 billion in the U.S. through 2028 when asked by Trump. The dinner showed a change from Trump's previously tense relationship with Big Tech, reflecting companies' desire to work with the administration for business advantages 1. President Donald Trump The host and 47th president of the United States, looking to create a post- Musk government- tech alliance. 2. First lady Melania Trump The first lady chairs the newly formed AI Education Task Force. 3. Susie Wiles Trump's White House chief of staff and the first woman to hold the position. The 68-year-old veteran political strategist has been credited with running Trump's most disciplined campaign, in 2024. She was also part of Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign. 4. Sergey Brin The 52-year-old Google cofounder, born in Moscow in 1973, immigrated to the United States. The Moscow- fled tech tycoon, Brin was 6-year-old when he fled the anti- semetic Soviet Land in 1973. He now leads its baby Google's AI efforts, after he initially stepped down in 2019 from Alphabet -- Google's parent company. 5. Gerelyn Gilbert-Soto Brin's girlfriend is the founder of GG Health Coach, helping people achieve better health through balanced nutrition and lifestyle changes. 6. Sam Altman The 40-year-old CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT -- the recipient of a $200 million contract for AI tool development from the Department of War -- thanked Trump for the administration's support of OpenAI's $500 billion Stargate Project infrastructure. 7. Greg Brockman Brockman, 37, cofounded OpenAI in 2015 with Sam Altman and others and has been its president ever since -- except a brief departure in 2023, just after GPT-4 launch. He backed Altman when he was being ousted from his own brand and left OpenAI during the November 2023 leadership. The comeback was complete after Altman was given back his precious role. 8. Anna Brockman Greg Brockman's wife became a notable figure during OpenAI's 2023 leadership crisis when she reportedly cried and pleaded with board member Ilya Sutskever to reverse his decision to oust Sam Altman. 9. Safra Catz The CEO of Oracle -- the social media innovation of the 2000s before Facebook took over -- is 63 and very well compensated -- one of the highest-paid female CEOs in the United States to be exact. In America in 1967 after leaving the Jew land of Israel, Catz joined Oracle in 1999 and became CEO in 2014. Catz has been instrumental in Oracle's cloud computing transformation -- a bid to transform the company for the future. 10. Gal Tirosh Safra Catz's husband, an Israeli-born former soccer coach. Tirosh's Israeli background has influenced his support for initiatives involving technology partnerships between the U.S. and Israel. 11. Jason Chang He is 42 and the CEO of CSBio, where he rose through the ranks and overcame a leadership battle to go from a director of operations in 2009 to CEO in 2019. 12. Meredith O'Rourke Trump's national finance director and senior advisor for his 2024 campaign is a longtime Republican fundraiser from Tallahassee. She founded the O'Rourke Group in 1997 and has been organizing high-level GOP fundraising events for nearly three decades. 13. Nathalie Dompé The 35-year-old co-CEO of Dompé Farmaceutici, an Italian biopharmaceutical company, and CEO of Dompé Holdings, was born in Milan in 1990 to pharmaceutical mogul Sergio Dompé. She oversees market development and strategic approval for new drugs launched in the United States. 14. Tony Fabrizio One of the nation's leading Republican strategists, the 65-year-old has served as chief pollster on five presidential campaigns, including Trump's successful 2016 and 2024 victories. He has worked for numerous senators, governors, and Fortune 500 companies including Visa, Bank of America, and Google. In 2017, he received the American Association of Political Consultants' Pollster of the Year award for his work on Trump's 2016 campaign. 15. Dylan Field The CEO and co- founder of Figma, the collaborative design platform, Field is 33 but highly influential in all matters tech. A prodigy from the get go, he cofounded Figma at 19 and took Figma through a rough terrain to turn it into a design industry leader. The company went public in 2025 with a valuation exceeding $68 billion, making Field worth approximately $6.6 billion. 16. John Hering The cofounder and executive chairman of cybersecurity company Lookout and a partner at Vy Capital, a Fortune 40 under 40 and a Businessweek Best Young Tech entrepreneur, Hering has achieved too much too soon. His company now guards devices of the U.S. Department of War, along with over 175 million devices globally. He has also cofounded cybersecurity firms Coalition and Redacted. 17. Jared Isaacman The 42-year-old billionaire entrepreneur, commercial astronaut, and founder and chairman of payment processor Shift4 Payments, defense contractor Draken International. He has commanded two SpaceX missions: Inspiration4, the first all-civilian spaceflight, and Polaris Dawn, where he performed the first commercial spacewalk. Trump nominated him as NASA administrator in December 2024 but withdrew the nomination in May 2025 amid his feud with Elon Musk. Isaacman's estimated net worth is $1.5 billion. 18. Sunny Madra Chief operating officer and president of AI chip company Groq, the entrepreneur has founded multiple successful startups, including Definitive Intelligence (acquired by Groq), Autonomic (acquired by Ford), and Xtreme Labs (acquired by Pivotal). 19. Satya Nadella The CEO of Microsoft, 57, Nadella, who has been known to share a difference of opinion with the president, praised his efforts in forwarding the cause of AI. 20. Chamath Palihapitiya Chamath, the Sri Lankan-born investor and engineer -- who is not just the CEO of Social Capital but also a cohost of the popular All-In podcast, has been a known MAGA friendly voice in the tech world. He has voiced vociferous support for Trump's policies and has often frequented high-profile political events. 21. Sundar Pichai The CEO of Alphabet and Google announced a $1 billion commitment to education and job training in the U.S., with $150 million dedicated to AI-focused grants. 22. Mark Pincus The founder of Zynga, the social-gaming company behind FarmVille and other popular mobile games. 23. Vivek Ranadivé The 67-year-old Indian-American entrepreneur, who is chairman and CEO of the Sacramento Kings NBA team and cofounder of TIBCO Software, was born in Mumbai in 1957 and immigrated to the US aged 16. He founded several technology companies, earning the nickname "Mr. Real Time" for his work in event processing software. In 2013, he became the first Indian majority owner of an NBA team when he purchased the Kings. He currently runs Bow Capital, an early-stage venture firm. His estimated net worth is $700 million. 24. David Sacks The White House AI and crypto czar, serving as chairman of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, is a member of the "PayPal mafia." Sacks was appointed in December 2024 to oversee the administration's artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency policies. 25. Shyam Sankar The 44-year-old CTO and EVP of Palantir Technologies was born in Mumbai and raised in Orlando. Sankar joined Palantir as employee No. 13 in 2006 and pioneered the company's "forward deployed engineer" model. 26. Jamie Siminoff Siminoff, 48, started off by creating the world's first Wi-Fi video doorbell in his garage -- leading to the foundation of Ring, smart doorbell company -- - and now sits on a net worth of $300 million. Amazon had acquired Ring for a billion dollars. 27. Lisa Su The 55-year-old CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), who praised Trump's administration for supporting the semiconductor industry, noted the "incredible acceleration" the industry has seen since Trump took office. 28. Alexandr Wang The 28-year-old former CEO of Scale AI and newly appointed chief AI officer at Meta was born in Los Alamos, N.M., to Chinese immigrant parents who worked as physicists. Wang dropped out of MIT at 19 to cofound Scale AI in 2016. He briefly became the world's youngest self-made billionaire in 2021 at age 24. In June 2025, Meta acquired a 49% stake in Scale AI for $14.3 billion, bringing Wang into Meta to head its Superintelligence Labs. 29. Sanjay Mehrotra The Micron CEO, Mehrotra, 67, was one of the early Indians to make a splash in the Silicon Valley when he founded Sandisk in 1988, before selling it for a whopping $16 billion in 2016. He has been steering Micron-a semiconductor powerhouse -- since 2017, AI, 5G, and autonomous vehicles 30. Tim Cook The CEO of Apple recently announced a $100 billion domestic manufacturing commitment and praised Trump's focus on innovation. He was seated prominently at the dinner and has maintained a close relationship with the administration. 31. David Limp The 58-year-old CEO of Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos's space company, Limp spent over 13 years at Amazon as senior vice president of devices and services, overseeing the Alexa, Echo, Kindle, and Fire devices, as well as the Project Kuiper satellite broadband network. He previously worked at Apple for about 10 years and served as venture partner at Azure Capital Partners. He joined Blue Origin as CEO in December 2023. 32. Mark Zuckerberg The Meta CEO, who sat next to Trump and was the first executive called upon to speak, thanked the president for hosting and noted that "all the companies here are building huge investments in the country" for data centers and AI infrastructure. He recently ended Meta's collaboration with third-party fact-checkers and has realigned company policies with the administration's priorities. 33. Bill Gates The Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist, Gates -- frequently at odds with the POTUS -- talked about "American innovation to the next level" with Trump for diseases like sickle cell anemia and AIDS. Seated next to the First Lady, Gates praised Trump for his leadership, a departure from his usual stance on the president. Q1. Why did Elon Musk skip Trump's dinner with tech CEOs? Elon Musk said he was invited but could not attend, amid his ongoing feud with Trump. Q2. Who attended Trump's White House tech dinner? 33 top tech leaders including Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Bill Gates, Sam Altman, and many billionaires attended.

Trump to host Meta's Zuckerberg, tech CEOs in White House's redone rose garden

Tech industry leaders including Meta Platforms's Mark Zuckerberg, Apple's Tim Cook, and Microsoft's Satya Nadella are expected to attend an artificial intelligence event hosted by U.S. first lady Melania Trump on Thursday and then join U.S. President Donald Trump for an evening reception in the White House's newly renovated rose garden. Other attendees are expected to include OpenAI's Sam Altman, Alphabet's Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, a White House official said. Alexandr Wang, who recently joined Meta's AI effort, is also among the invitees. The first lady announced last month that she was launching a presidential challenge to encourage students to use emerging AI technology to find solutions to community challenges. The effort will also encourage educators to adopt AI in the classroom, the White House has said.

Trump to host tech giants at White House dinner without Musk

The latest news on the United States. President Donald Trump is preparing to host some of the most influential figures in technology at a White House dinner this Thursday, with leaders from Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Google, Oracle and other major firms set to attend. "The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world. The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio." The gathering, held in the Rose Garden, is part of a broader push on artificial intelligence education and innovation, with several executives expected to join a new task force led by First Lady Melania Trump, such as Bill Gates, Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg. While the guest list features a wide range of industry powerhouses, one absence stands out: Elon Musk, a former ally of Trump who split from the president earlier this year. It remains to be seen what will be discussed at this meeting, so stay tuned for further updates.

Tech giants rally behind White House AI push

AI has become part of everyday conversation. Just last night, top executives from the largest United States tech firms gathered at the White House to back an artificial intelligence education initiative led by First Lady Melania Trump. Leaders from Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, Apple, and others pledged resources to bring AI into schools and training programs, emphasizing their commitment to preparing the next generation for a digital future. The dinner with Donald and Melania Trump highlighted the industry's push to strengthen ties with the administration amid regulatory scrutiny and antitrust challenges. However, while the guest list included many of tech's biggest names, one notable absence was Elon Musk, a former Trump ally who parted ways with the president earlier this year. Do you miss seeing Trump and Musk together?

Trump to host tech CEOs for first event in newly renovated Rose Garden

U.S. President Donald Trump will host more than two dozen technology and business leaders on Thursday for a dinner in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden, according to a White House official. The guests include Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the official said. The gathering highlights Trump's complicated but evolving relationship with Silicon Valley and the broader tech industry. Once a source of frequent clashes over issues such as content moderation and antitrust scrutiny, the tech sector has recalibrated since Trump's 2024 election victory. Executives have sought closer ties with the Republican administration, aligning corporate policies with the White House's push to roll back diversity and equity initiatives while courting Trump's favor on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. "The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. The Hill news outlet first reported the event. Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief who served as a Trump adviser before a public split earlier this year, was not on the invite list, the official confirmed. On Thursday, Musk posted on his social media platform X that he "was invited, but unfortunately could not attend. A representative of mine will be there." The Rose Garden renovation, completed in August, replaced the iconic grass lawn with a stone patio and umbrella-covered tables modeled after Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The gathering there is set to take place after CEOs and tech leaders attend a White House event on AI hosted by first lady Melania Trump. Other executives on the guest list include Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, the White House official said. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, Palantir PLTR.O Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, Meta's chief AI officer Alexandr Wang and AMD CEO Lisa Su are also expected.

Trump to host tech CEOs for first event in newly renovated Rose Garden

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday will host more than two dozen technology and business leaders for a dinner in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden, according to a White House official. The guests include Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the official said. The gathering highlights Trump's complicated but evolving relationship with Silicon Valley and the broader tech industry. Once a source of frequent clashes over issues such as content moderation and antitrust scrutiny, the tech sector has recalibrated since Trump's 2024 election victory. Executives have sought closer ties with the Republican administration, aligning corporate policies with the White House's push to roll back diversity and equity initiatives while courting Trump's favor on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. "The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said. The Hill news outlet first reported the event. The Rose Garden renovation, completed in August, replaced the iconic grass lawn with a stone patio and umbrella-covered tables modeled after Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The gathering there is set to take place after CEOs and tech leaders attend a White House event on AI hosted by first lady Melania Trump. Other executives on the guest list include Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, the White House official said. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar and Meta's chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, are also expected. Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief who served as a Trump adviser before a public split earlier this year, is not on the invite list, the official confirmed. (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jamie Freed)