Trump to meet AI leaders to discuss US investment in their companies

President Donald Trump is set to meet with leaders of prominent artificial intelligence companies at the White House, likely next week, to discuss a potential government investment in their businesses. The goal of such an investment, Trump said on Air Force One, would be to "create almost a partnership with the American public". While Trump did not specify which companies would be represented, the US AI landscape is dominated by players like Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic.

The latter two companies are expected to go public in the coming weeks. Attempts to reach representatives from these companies for comment were unsuccessful. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, recently met with Senator Bernie Sanders in Washington DC.

Sanders has expressed interest in proposing a sovereign wealth fund that would grant the US a 50% stake in AI companies. Trump, when asked about Sanders' plan, suggested that their ideas may not be as far apart as they seem. "Where economics are concerned, we have things that aren't that far apart," Trump said.

He also revealed that he had been considering government investment in AI companies for over a year. Separately, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with senior White House officials a few weeks ago, signaling a potential easing of tensions between the company and the administration. Anthropic is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with the US Department of Defense but has publicly praised President Trump's Executive Order on AI.

Jack Clark, co-founder of Anthropic, told BBC's Newsnight that the company is engaged in daily conversations with the US government and is exploring ways to contribute to national security.