Tech leaders meet with Trump at the White House to back AI initiative

Executives from the largest US technology companies met at the White House to support an artificial intelligence initiative led by First Lady Melania Trump.

CEOs such as Satya Nadella from Microsoft, Sam Altman from OpenAI, Sundar Pichai from Google, and Tim Cook from Apple gathered at the White House after technology executives endorsed a plan to help American children learn to use artificial intelligence.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates joined Donald and Melania Trump for a dinner with officials and technology leaders, following a roundtable discussion on education earlier on Thursday.

At the dinner, the president praised the tech CEOs and said his administration has made it “easier” to build the data centers necessary for artificial intelligence, enabling them to secure electrical capacity and other permits.

The tech leaders have been seeking favor with Trump since last year’s election, as they request looser regulations, more government incentives, and exemptions from tariffs for their companies.

Many are facing the possibility of their companies being broken up in numerous antitrust lawsuits filed by the government.

Microsoft announced on Thursday that it would support the White House’s AI initiative by offering its Copilot AI for free to all US university students.

CEO Nadella also pledged to expand the Copilot program to primary and secondary school students and teachers as part of a commitment to donate $4 billion in cash and AI services to education over the next five years.

“We are very grateful to the president, the first lady, and the entire administration for making it a national priority to prepare the next generation to harness the power of artificial intelligence,” Nadella said in a video posted on X.

Altman announced the OpenAI business platform and a certification program that works with employers, including Walmart. The company has committed to accrediting 10 million Americans by 2030 after they complete AI training through its online platform.

The OpenAI co-founder, after previously criticizing the president, has spent this year building relationships with the Trump administration. He has introduced his company’s technology to lawmakers and White House staff, emphasizing the potential impact of artificial intelligence on the American economy.

“Thank you for being a pro-business and pro-innovation president. It’s a very refreshing change,” Altman said at the White House dinner. “We are very excited to see what you have done to make all our companies and our country so successful.”

Google CEO Pichai also joined the chorus, highlighting his company’s plan to invest $1 billion in AI-powered education over the next three years.

“It is an honor for me to be here and to support the first lady’s presidential artificial intelligence competition,” Pichai said. “You are inspiring young people with this initiative. We are extremely grateful for the partnership of everyone in this room and for the leadership of the first lady and the administration.”

The only notable absentee from the dinner was Elon Musk, who had a public falling out with Trump earlier this year after heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Musk, who owns the artificial intelligence company xAI, said he was invited but sent a representative in his place.

A White House official said other guests included Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, and Palantir executive Shyam Sankar.

The list also included Scale AI co-founder Alexandr Wang, who now works at Meta; Jared Isaacman, an investor in Musk’s SpaceX and a former presidential nominee for NASA administrator; and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya.

Major technology groups are among more than one hundred signatories who have pledged to support the first lady’s AI education program.

Last month, Melania Trump launched the presidential artificial intelligence competition, which aims to increase the interest of students and educators in technology.

However, Melania Trump also advocates for stricter regulation of artificially generated images and videos and supports the Take It Down Act, which criminalizes the publication of “revenge porn” or “deepfakes” and requires technology companies to remove such content within 48 hours.