When President Trump visited the U.K. for his second state trip this week, the dinner guest list looked a little different from the usual.
Instead of Hollywood stars, the spotlight was on tech leaders.
Who Was at the Table?
According to the New York Times, some of the biggest names in technology sat down at the banquet:
| Guest | Role | Company |
| Tim Cook | CEO | Apple |
| Jensen Huang | CEO | Nvidia |
| Satya Nadella | CEO | Microsoft |
| Ruth Porat | President | Alphabet & Google |
| Marc Benioff | CEO | Salesforce |
| Sam Altman | CEO | OpenAI |
| David Sacks | Venture Capitalist, AI & Crypto Adviser | White House |
It’s not every day you see that many industry heavyweights sharing a table with world leaders.
Why Tech Took Center Stage
So why the shift from movie stars to tech executives?
The answer is simple: technology now drives global influence.
- AI and Quantum Tech: The U.S. and U.K. signed the new Tech Prosperity Deal on Thursday. The agreement centers on advancing nuclear power, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.
- Big Investments: American tech companies pledged around £31 billion ($42 billion) for AI infrastructure in the U.K. This includes new data centers from Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI. CoreWeave and Salesforce also promised multibillion-pound investments.
These aren’t just symbolic promises. They represent a massive push to make the U.K. a hub for advanced technologies.
Trump’s Growing Tech Focus
President Trump’s second administration is paying closer attention to Silicon Valley.
Over the past year, big tech firms have stepped into government projects, from building digital health tools to creating AI assistants for public services.
At the same time, Trump has been outspoken:
- He criticized Apple’s reliance on overseas supply chains.
- He signed an “anti-woke” AI order.
- He asked the attorney general to review federal funding for companies with diversity, equity, and inclusion programs he considers unlawful.
More Tech Dinners Ahead?
This isn’t the first time Trump has surrounded himself with tech leaders.
- At his inauguration earlier this year, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and other CEOs attended.
- In September, he hosted a Silicon Valley dinner with 33 top executives, including Sam Altman, Tim Cook, and Zuckerberg.
One notable absence?
Elon Musk.
Once a close adviser nicknamed “First Buddy,” Musk skipped both the inauguration and the recent dinner.
What This Means Going Forward
The guest list at this week’s banquet highlights a clear shift.
Politics and technology are more intertwined than ever. For the U.S. and U.K., the future isn’t about celebrity power; it’s about who controls innovation.
The message is hard to miss: in today’s world, the new rockstars are the people building the tools that shape economies, governments, and even daily life.
