US President Donald Trump on Thursday hosted a special dinner at the White House with America’s top technology leaders. The gathering focused on artificial intelligence (AI), investment in the United States, and the future of the tech industry.
The dinner brought together some of the biggest names in technology, including Bill Gates, Apple’s Tim Cook, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. But what made the evening stand out was the strong presence of Indian-American leaders.
Trump praised the gathering, saying, “The most brilliant people are gathered around this table. This is definitely a high-IQ group and I’m very proud of them.”
Five Indian-origin CEOs were among the dozen invitees and the list includes, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Sundar Pichai of Google, Sanjay Mehrotra of Micron, Vivek Ranadive of TIBCO, and Shyam Sankar of Palantir. This list shoes the influence of Indian talent in Silicon Valley and Washington’s policy circles, even as the Trump administration has made immigration rules stricter for many Indian professionals.
One notable absence was Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk. Musk’s name was missing from the guest list, and this has signalled a rift between him and Trump.
During the dinner, Trump asked each CEO about their company’s investment in the US. Pichai revealed Google would invest USD 250 billion in the country over the next two years. Nadella added that Microsoft spends about USD 75-80 billion annually in the US. Bill Gates, meanwhile, backed Trump’s vaccine efforts and promised Microsoft’s support for research on diseases like HIV, polio, and sickle cell.
The event also gave Pichai a chance to reset ties with the administration after a US court dismissed a major antitrust case against Google’s Chrome browser. The ruling boosted Alphabet’s market value to more than USD 2.5 trillion.
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Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
