CEOs from the world’s leading technology companies, including Apple, Google, and Microsoft, were among the distinguished guests at a Thursday state dinner held at the White House. Read more.
The dinner was part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s visit to the United States, which has generated considerable interest from business executives seeking investment opportunities in India.
The timing of Narendra Modi’s visit is significant, as the United States aims to strengthen its ties with India, a country experiencing rapid economic growth. As geopolitical tensions persist in the Indo-Pacific region and companies seek to relocate their operations away from China, India has become an increasingly attractive destination.
India surpassed the United Kingdom as the world’s fifth-largest economy last year, and its population recently overtook China’s, making it the world’s most populous country.
These influential business and tech leaders at the state dinner demonstrate the significance of India’s market and the interest in investing in the country. Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were among those in attendance.
Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron, one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, also joined the dinner after announcing earlier in the day the company’s plans to establish a $2.75 billion semiconductor assembly and testing facility in India.
During the visit, a joint statement was released by President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which they acknowledged the immense opportunities and potential risks associated with artificial intelligence (AI). They pledged to collaborate on developing trustworthy and responsible AI, promoting AI education and workforce initiatives, creating commercial opportunities, and addressing issues of discrimination and bias.
The joint statement also highlighted the investments made by Google and Microsoft in India. Google has established a $10 billion digitization fund for India and opened an AI Research Center focused on developing models to support more than 100 Indian languages. Similarly, Microsoft has partnered with the National Language Translation Mission to expand digital services in regional languages through large Indian language AI models.
The presence of Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and his wife at the state dinner further emphasized the significance of India’s market and the interest of multinational companies in expanding their operations in the country.
Must read: US President Joe Biden Meets AI Experts.
