Jensen Huang and Sam Altman Rise, Trump Marks 6 Months in Office with Changed Big Tech CEO Positions

【Silicon Valley=Hong Chang-gi Correspondent】 

After Donald Trump took office, the fortunes of Big Tech CEOs have sharply diverged. Big Tech CEOs donated millions of dollars to Trump during last year's election, attended Trump's inauguration, and announced new investment plans worth billions of dollars, but it is reported that their positions have completely changed six months into Trump's presidency.


According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 11th (local time), the two CEOs whose positions have risen the most six months into Trump's presidency are Sam Altman of OpenAI and Jensen Huang of NVIDIA. WSJ evaluated Big Tech CEOs' positions as rising, falling, or neutral in four areas: relationship with Trump, antitrust, trade, deregulation, and contracts.
WSJ reported that Altman CEO has gained Trump's favor and is likely to benefit from the Trump administration's support for the advancement of AI in the U.S. In fact, Trump praised Altman after announcing a $500 billion AI data center construction investment plan on his second day in office.
Jensen Huang, NVIDIA CEO, has seen his position rise sharply despite the handicap of not attending Trump's inauguration. Trump showed favor by referring to Huang as "my friend" during his visit to Saudi Arabia last May. Trump also praised NVIDIA for planning more investments in the U.S., indicating that NVIDIA's ability to export AI chips to U.S. allies is expanding in the AI field, which the Trump administration is keenly interested in. Huang reportedly visited the White House on the 10th to meet with Trump.
Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, is another CEO who has benefited since Trump's inauguration. Palantir has secured more contracts with the U.S. federal government since the start of Trump's second term. However, Palantir is cautious about this perception. A Palantir representative said, "It's not because of a specific president, but due to the flow of AI."

Conversely, Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, and Tim Cook, Apple CEO, are currently facing significant difficulties, with their positions considerably diminished. Musk, once Trump's right-hand man, has now fallen from grace. His influence has waned due to public conflicts with Trump. The recent repeal of clean energy tax credits, a key agenda in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" (OBBBA), which passed Congress, could negatively impact Tesla.
Tim Cook, Apple CEO, has also fallen out of favor with Trump. Trump has consistently criticized Apple for not manufacturing iPhones in the U.S., putting pressure on Cook. Apple's iPhones are 90% manufactured in China, and Trump has no intention of bailing out Apple.
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg's position is currently ambiguous. Zuckerberg attempted to lobby Trump's side to resolve the antitrust lawsuit filed against Meta by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) but failed. However, there is still an analysis that Meta could benefit from the Trump administration's AI deregulation. Google and Sundar Pichai CEO, facing antitrust issues, are struggling under the Trump administration, but they are likely to benefit from measures taken by the Trump administration to support AI companies.









theveryfirst@fnnews.com Hong Chang-gi Reporter