Some of the most exclusive seats at President Donald Trump’s inauguration were reserved for powerful tech CEOs who also are among the world’s richest men.

Tech billionaires including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos were given prime positions at Donald Trump's inauguration Monday, in an unprecedented demonstration of their power and influence on US politics.

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 20: Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk attend the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson – Pool/Getty Images.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called Stargate, “the most important project for this era” and promised that all of the new investment his company was making would help cure diseases. Altman was actually prompted by Trump to talk about the medical advances that AI would supposedly figure out.

Elon Musk’s quarter of a billion dollars in support for Donald Trump during the campaign has been a boon for the billionaire entrepreneur. Valuations for his businesses have soared since the election,

Elon Musk claimed overnight Tuesday that tech giants OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank don’t have enough money to fulfill their high-profile pledge to invest $500 billion in U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure.

OpenAI and Microsoft have hit back at Elon Musk’s criticism of Stargate, the new $500bn artificial intelligence infrastructure project hailed by Donald Trump as a “resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential under a new president”.

Shortly after President Donald Trump announced a new massive AI infrastructure investment from the White House, “First Buddy” Elon Musk tried to tear it down.

Trump is signing sweeping executive orders this week, targeting DEI programs, climate agreements, and border security. Follow Newsweek's live blog coverage.

The venture involves OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle, and starts with an investment of $100 billion. On the second day of his second presidency, Donald Trump announced the creation of a joint venture with OpenAI,

Elon Musk weighed in on one of the first business investment unveilings by President Donald Trump Wednesday, in a move that could suggest friction at the heart of the new administration's focus on America's leadership in the global technology race.