Trump White House officials meet with CEOs from Google, Microsoft, IBM, Qualcomm

The Trump administration is holding a roundtable “listening session” on innovation with top tech executives Friday, officials said.

The discussion will center around tech industries of the future, including artificial intelligence (AI), 5G wireless communications and Quantum computing and how to ensure the US is dominant in these areas, according to White House officials, who held a press call ahead of the meeting. 

Executives participating include Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella of Microsoft,  Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, Safra Catz of Oracle, Steve Mollenkopf of Qualcomm, Ginni Rometty  of IBM and others. CEO of investment firm Blackstone Group, as well as presidents of Carnegie Mellon University and MIT and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, will also be attending the meeting, which kicks off at 12 p.m. ET and is expected to last about an hour and a half.

The executives will meet with several top administration officials, including Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to the president, daughter Ivanka Trump, as well the president’s economic advisor Larry Kudlow. Top administration tech officials Michael Kratsios and Chris Liddell will also attend the meeting. President Trump is not expected to participate in the meeting, but he may make a brief appearance, officials said.

Administration officials said the meeting is the first of many the White House plans to have with a wide range of companies, which in the future may include executives from Amazon, Apple, and others.

The meeting comes at a time when the relationship between Silicon Valley tech firms and Washington is strained. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are looking for ways to reign in tech firms, especially when it comes to security and privacy concerns. Up to now these firms have operated with little to no government regulation or oversight.

President Trump has also been critical of several internet companies, including Google, accusing the company of “rigging” its search results to show “fake news” that is critical of him.

“Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good,” Trump tweeted in August. “They are controlling what we can & cannot see.”

Google’s Pichai is expected to testify before Congress next week to discuss these issues.

But White House officials said neither of these issues will be discussed at this meeting. Instead, the meeting will focus on the main technology topics as well as discussions around alleviating regulatory burdens and how to prepare the American workforce through STEM educational initiatives.

One topic that is likely to come up is the Trump administration’s trade war with China, which has many in the tech industry concerned. It’s still unclear what President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to at their meeting over the weekend. 

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