Big Tech CEOs Gather at White House, Eager to Announce "US Investment Expansion" to Trump

Trump Demands CEOs Publicly Share Investment Plans... Even Presses Them to "State the Amount"

 U.S. President Donald Trump and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg talk during a dinner at the White House on the 4th (local time). [AP=Yonhap News]

"We will invest at least $600 billion."

"Thank you for creating an environment where we can invest."

The heads of major American technology companies, who dominate the global market, were seen vying to pledge increased investment in the United States before President Donald Trump, according to a Bloomberg report on the 4th (local time).

President Trump hosted a dinner at the White House that day, inviting top CEOs from the information technology (IT) industry who are rivals in the artificial intelligence (AI) field.

President Trump first highlighted the government's role, stating, "We are making it easier for you to get the power needed (to run AI) and we are granting you permits."

He then asked each company representative seated at the table to state their investment plans.

The first to be called upon was Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

CEO Zuckerberg began by saying, "All the companies gathered here are making massive investments to build the data centers and power infrastructure that will drive the next wave of innovation."

President Trump pressed Zuckerberg for a specific figure, asking him to "state how much you plan to invest." He responded, "We will invest at least $600 billion (approximately 840 trillion won) by 2028."

President Trump expressed satisfaction, remarking, "That's an enormous amount."

 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Apple CEO Tim Cook attend a dinner hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House on the 4th (local time). [AFP=Yonhap News]

When it was his turn, Apple CEO Tim Cook, who pledged $600 billion in investment in U.S. manufacturing last month, first expressed his gratitude to President Trump, saying, "Thank you for fostering an environment where we can make large-scale investments."

Hinting that Apple would receive an exemption from soon-to-be-imposed tariffs on semiconductor imports due to its investment pledge, Trump boasted, "Tim Cook will be in pretty good shape."

Trump also stated that significant tariffs would be imposed on semiconductor companies that do not build factories in the United States.

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, including Zuckerberg, Cook, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, have maintained a close relationship with President Trump since his potential re-election, having donated millions of dollars ahead of his inauguration in January and securing prominent seats at his inauguration ceremony.

Bloomberg forecasts that Trump's camp will once again seek financial support from the tech CEOs gathered at the dinner ahead of next year's midterm elections to secure control of Congress.

Attendees at the dinner included Zuckerberg, Cook, Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (operator of 'ChatGPT'), Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Microsoft (MS) CEO Satya Nadella, and founder Bill Gates. Oracle CEO Safra Catz and AMD CEO Lisa Su were also present.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, denied media reports that he had not been invited.

He stated on his platform X (formerly Twitter) that he had been invited to the White House dinner but unfortunately could not attend, and that a representative would attend in his stead.