"Court" Trump: Silicon Valley giants "gather at the White House" to support the First Lady's AI initiative

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America’s tech giants appear to be moving closer to Washington with a “conciliatory” posture.

According to the UK’s Financial Times on September 4th, recently, technology leaders such as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Apple CEO Tim Cook gathered at the White House, jointly endorsing a program initiated by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump aimed at “helping American children learn to use AI.”

At the evening banquet, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates were seated on either side of the Trump couple.

In his speech, Altman thanked President Trump for being “such a pro-business, pro-innovation president,” and Nadella and Pichai also expressed strong support. These public statements came with concrete commitments, including major investment plans announced by companies like Microsoft and Google.

This banquet took place at a time when the tech industry is facing tremendous pressure from the U.S. government. From the growing number of antitrust lawsuits to tariffs threatened directly by the president, building a good relationship with the current administration now seems to be a priority for technology companies to mitigate risks.

Notably, Tesla CEO Elon Musk did not attend the event; the two have previously had major disagreements over the “Beautiful Act.”

Giants Compete to Make Commitments, Billions Flow into AI Education

Microsoft pledged to provide its Copilot AI service free of charge to all U.S. college students, and plans to extend the program to teachers and students in primary and secondary schools. Nadella stated this is part of the company’s commitment to donate $4 billion in cash and AI services to education over the next five years. In a video posted on platform X, he said:

We are very grateful to the President, the First Lady, and the entire administration for making the cultivation of the next generation’s AI capabilities a national priority.

OpenAI announced the launch of an AI employment platform and certification program, aiming to partner with employers such as Walmart. Altman pledged that by 2030, their online training platform would provide AI skills certification to 10 million Americans.

Google also joined the effort, highlighting plans to invest $1 billion in AI-driven education over the next three years. He stated:

I am honored to be here to support the First Lady’s Presidential AI Challenge. We are grateful for the cooperation of everyone present, as well as the leadership of the First Lady and the current administration.

Behind the Flattery: Strategic Calculations Amid Antitrust and Tariffs

The collective overtures of technology giants toward the White House are driven by profound strategic motives. Since last year’s election, tech company executives have been striving to foster a harmonious relationship with the Trump administration in hopes of securing more lenient regulation, increased public subsidies, and tariff exemptions.

However, the policy environment they face is becoming increasingly harsh. Reports indicate that many companies are facing antitrust lawsuits initiated by the government, and may even be at risk of being broken up. Meanwhile, the cost of diverging from the president’s position has proven to be high. Trump has repeatedly criticized certain companies publicly—for example, threatening Apple with targeted tariffs to force compliance with policy agendas including “Made in America.”

Against this backdrop, at the event on Thursday, President Trump praised the CEOs in attendance and said his administration is committed to facilitating the construction of compute centers needed for AI development, including “electricity capacity and ... obtaining permits.” This statement is undoubtedly a positive signal for an industry eager to expand its infrastructure.

Tech Leaders Gather, Musk’s Absence Draws Attention

According to a White House official, apart from several CEOs, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, and Palantir executive Shyam Sankar were also invited. The invitation list also included Scale AI co-founder Alexandr Wang (currently at Meta), venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, among others.

Among the many well-known faces, Elon Musk’s absence stood out. The entrepreneur, owner of AI company xAI, said he received the invitation but sent a representative instead.

Previously, after leading the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” Musk and Trump publicly fell out earlier this year over the “Beautiful Act” and a series of other incidents.

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