Five Indian-American CEOs To Join Donald Trump's Dinner At White House

Last Updated:September 04, 2025, 22:14 IST

Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai are among the five Indian-American tech leaders who will attend Trump's White House dinner amid a chill in India-US ties.

US President Donald Trump

Amid rising resentment toward Indians over immigration and job-related concerns, five Indian-American executives are among more than a dozen CEOs expected to attend a White House dinner hosted by US President Donald Trump on Thursday, according to the Times of India.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Micron Technologies’ CEO Sanjay Mehrotra are among confirmed attendees for the dinner, along with TIBCO chairman Vivek Ranadive and Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar.

The guests also include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Oracle CEO Safra Catz. Tesla boss Elon Musk has not been invited after his ugly spat with Trump.

The dinner meeting will take place in the White House’s renovated Rose Garden, following a meeting on artificial intelligence hosted by First Lady Melania Trump, focusing on developing AI education for American youth.

As per the ToI report, David Sacks, the White House AI and crypto czar, will coordinate the events aimed at aligning the tech community with Trump’s priorities, which include rolling back diversity and equity initiatives, which have ironically facilitated a strong immigrant presence in the US tech industry.

The Indian-American presence alongside tech leaders in the White House comes amid a chill in relations between the United States and India over a tariff hike concerning New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil.

Furthermore, there has been a rise in anti-India sentiment in the United States, with right-wing commentators like Laura Loomer and Charlie Kirk claiming that Indian immigrants are “stealing jobs" meant for American workers. MAGA influencers have long targeted the H1-B visa system, which is used primarily by Indian tech workers, as antithetical to their “America First" policies, drawing accusations of racism and hypocrisy.

Applications to the US universities have dropped 13 per cent year-over-year, as Indian students are increasingly favouring destinations like Germany, which saw a jump of 32.6 per cent in 2024-25, a report said on Thursday.

The United States is no longer the default coveted destination for Indian students, and destinations like Germany and the UAE are gaining unprecedented traction, according to the Transnational Education (TNE) Report 2024-25 by edtech company upGrad.

(with agency inputs)

Aveek Banerjee

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international...Read More

Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international...

Read More

News world Five Indian-American CEOs To Join Donald Trump's Dinner At White House

Read More