WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump is increasingly counting on the tech sector and the development of artificial intelligence to , a reality laid bare this week as he hosted Saudi Arabia’s .
The crown prince has committed to invest $1 trillion with U.S. companies, a pledge that is largely about using Saudi Arabia’s oil and natural gas reserves to pivot his nation into becoming an AI data hub.
鈥淲e will work closely with friends and partners like those in this room to build the largest, most powerful, most innovative AI ecosystem in the world,鈥� Trump said at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum on Wednesday.
Sitting in the front row of the audience at the Kennedy Center were Nvidia co-founder and tech billionaire .
Trump took credit for the new investments and stock market performance this year 鈥� both of which have been a function of the AI buildout. For all of Trump鈥檚 claims that his tariffs are generating new investments, much of that foreign capital is going to data centers for AI’s computing demands or the power facilities needed to run those data centers.
The president called the stock market gains 鈥渁mazing,鈥� yet over growing anxiety about whether AI companies are fueling a .
There are also growing political risks for Trump if the AI buildout further pushes up or if the jobs he promises in the sector fail to materialize.
The consultancy Oxford Economics released an analysis Tuesday that said AI investments offset the 鈥渆xtreme uncertainty” in the U.S. economy this year 鈥� uncertainty caused in part by Trump’s tariff hikes that have elevated inflation and potentially contributed to a slowdown in hiring.
The firm noted that AI companies are starting to rely on debt to pay for the growth in the sector, which could suggest 鈥渁 more vulnerable phase鈥� next year for the boom.
Saudi investments are anchored in AI growth
The race for investments is evidenced in Saudi Arabia’s own commitments, which rose from $600 billion during Trump’s visit there in May to $1 trillion when Prince Mohammed came to the White House on Tuesday.
Trump said he鈥檚 already pushed Prince Mohammed to increase that figure, saying he lobbied the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia backstage before their appearance at the Kennedy Center.
鈥淲hile we were taking the picture, I said, 鈥機ould you make it $1.5 trillion?鈥欌�� Trump said. 鈥淪o he鈥檚 got something to think about.鈥�
When Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman was asked at the forum what the most important growth stories were at the summit, the billionaire investor said, “AI and, you know, power.”
鈥淭hose are the two things that we spend a lot of time on,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t Blackstone, my company, we鈥檙e the largest developer, the largest owner, of data centers in the world. And this is a really explosive area.”
Tareq Amin, CEO of Humain, said his Saudi-backed AI company was launched when Trump visited the Middle Eastern nation in May. His company saw the opportunity to build data centers and AI infrastructure by leveraging Saudi Arabia鈥檚 energy production and U.S. technology.
鈥淵es, it is an ambitious, crazy thing,鈥� Amin said with confidence.
Musk, whose xAI company has a chatbot called Grok, predicted that AI and robots would eventually allow work to become optional for human beings, that money would become 鈥渋rrelevant鈥� and poverty would cease to exist.
鈥淎I and humanoid robots will actually eliminate poverty,鈥� said Musk, the head of Tesla and SpaceX. He added that robots would 鈥渕ake everyone wealthy.鈥�
Nvidia’s Huang, appearing on stage with Musk, did not make as bold a prediction. He said: 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 jobs will be different. I think that that鈥檚 for sure.鈥� Huang spoke ahead of the $4.5 trillion computer chip company announcing its quarterly earnings Wednesday. The company afterward reported for its third quarter with net income climbing 65% from a year ago.
During Trump’s remarks, the president asked Huang if any other country could compete with its Blackwell chip that is enabling much of the AI development.
鈥淣ot yet, sir,鈥� said Huang from the front row.
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