The newly renovated White House Rose Garden is set to welcome more than two dozen tech titans on Thursday evening. The meeting symbolizes the growth of President Trump’s relationship with the technology industry and investment in AI infrastructure.
The Hill reported that the Rose Garden gathering will take place after First Lady Melania Trump’s White House event on AI. According to a statement told to The Hill by White House spokesman Davis Ingle, “The Rose Garden Club at the White House is the hottest place to be in Washington, or perhaps the world. The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political, and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio.”
The Rose Garden renovation involved paving over the lawn to accommodate more umbrellas and chairs around the new patio, which closely resembles President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The renovation was completed in early August, with the White House releasing a teaser later in the month that the space was event-ready. This renovation was just the start, with more plans announced for the construction of a new $200 million ballroom in the East Wing of the White House.
The notable guests who are confirmed to be attending are Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and many others.
Reuters reported that Tesla owner and SpaceX chief Elon Musk was not invited but claimed otherwise and turned down the invitation. On the social media platform X, Musk had shared that he “unfortunately could not attend. A representative of mine will be there.”
The group of attendees also includes CEOs and leaders from Google, Micron Technology, Dompé Pharma, Groq, Advanced Micro Devices, and Blue Origin. Some of the companies represented at this inaugural event have made significant investments in the country since President Trump took office. For example, Breitbart reported that Apple pledged $600 billion, while companies like OpenAI and Oracle have committed to being involved in Project Stargate, with a combined commitment of $500 billion for AI infrastructure in the country.
This meeting marks the evolution of President Trump’s complicated relationships with the broader tech industry.