Trump Hosts White House Dinner With Top Tech CEOs, Including 5 Indian-Origin Executives

US President Donald Trump hosted a select group of leading technology CEOs at the White House for a dinner focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and innovation. The Rose Garden event, held Thursday night, highlighted the growing role of AI in the United States and featured several Indian-origin executives, including Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella, underlining their influence in the global tech sector.

Speaking at the dinner, Trump praised the research and investments being made in AI, describing it as a leap that could "take our country to a new level." Addressing his guests, he referred to them as "high IQ people." The gathering marked another instance of the ongoing engagement between Trump and top tech leaders, many of whom had also attended his inauguration.

The Rose Garden was set up with tables, chairs, and umbrellas, resembling the outdoor aesthetic of Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. The atmosphere combined formal discussions with Trump's signature personal branding.

Indian-Origin CEOs in Attendance

The dinner featured strong representation from Indian-origin executives, reflecting their rising prominence in global technology:

• Sundar Pichai - Google
• Satya Nadella - Microsoft
• Sanjay Mehrotra - Micron
• Vivek Ranadive - TIMCO Software
• Shyam Sankar - Palantir

Other Notable Guests

Alongside the Indian-origin leaders, the guest list included prominent figures such as Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, Google founder Sergey Brin, OpenAI founder Greg Brockman, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang, and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. Elon Musk, who previously had a close association with Trump, was absent from the dinner following a public fallout earlier this year. Sam Altman of OpenAI, a key figure in AI and sometimes considered a rival to Musk, attended in his place.

Trump's Focus on Investment Amid Criticism

While discussions during the dinner celebrated technological advancement, Trump emphasized financial commitments, asking executives about their investment levels in the United States. However, his outreach to tech leaders has drawn criticism within the Republican Party. Senator Josh Hawley, one of Trump's allies in Congress, criticized the tech industry earlier on Thursday, highlighting concerns over AI regulation and specifically calling out companies like Meta and ChatGPT.

(With inputs from AP)