Tim Cook, Sam Altman, Satya Nadella join Donald Trump at UK state banquet amid tech deals
Earlier this year, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos joined other industry leaders at Trump’s inauguration.
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Some of the biggest names in global technology joined President Donald Trump at a state banquet in London on Wednesday during his second official visit to the United Kingdom.
According to the New York Times, the guest list featured Apple chief executive Tim Cook, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, Alphabet and Google president Ruth Porat, and venture capitalist David Sacks, who also serves as the White House’s AI and crypto adviser.
The high-profile dinner coincided with a major new partnership between Washington and London. On Thursday, the two governments signed the Tech Prosperity Deal, which will prioritise cooperation in nuclear, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies, as per a report by TechCrunch.
Alongside the political pact, U.S. tech giants unveiled a wave of investment in Britain. Google, Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI announced plans to expand data centre operations, while Salesforce and CoreWeave committed multibillion-pound projects. In total, American firms pledged around £31 billion ($42 billion) to strengthen AI infrastructure across the U.K.
Traditionally, White House state banquets have featured Hollywood celebrities, but Wednesday’s guest list highlighted the growing prominence of business and technology leaders in Trump’s second administration.
The change reflects shifting economic priorities on both sides of the Atlantic, as governments seek closer alignment with the tech sector in areas ranging from digital health ecosystems to AI-powered public services. Over the past year, companies including Apple, Google and OpenAI have signed agreements to provide tools and infrastructure for U.S. government programmes.
President Trump has repeatedly placed technology at the centre of his political agenda. He has criticised Tim Cook over Apple’s overseas supply chains, signed an “anti-woke” executive order targeting AI, and directed the attorney general to investigate whether federal contractors with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are in breach of funding rules.
Earlier this year, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos joined other industry leaders at Trump’s inauguration. In September, he hosted a Silicon Valley dinner for 33 executives, including Cook, Altman and Zuckerberg. One notable absence from both gatherings was Elon Musk, once a close presidential adviser nicknamed “First Buddy.”
