At a high-profile White House dinner with Silicon Valley leaders, US President Donald Trump publicly pressed Apple CEO Tim Cook about the company’s US investment plans while taking a veiled swipe at Apple’s growing operations in India.
Seated alongside Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Trump asked Cook:
“Tim, how much money will Apple be investing in the United States? You were elsewhere before, and now you’re really coming home in a big way.”
Cook responded that Apple would invest $600 billion in the US, praising Trump for creating an environment that encouraged such a major commitment.
“I want to thank you for setting the tone such that we could make a major investment in the United States,” Cook said, noting that Apple was “coming home in a big way.”
Apple’s India Expansion Creates Friction
Trump’s comments came just months after he reportedly told Cook he did not want Apple to expand its manufacturing footprint in India.
“I treated you very good. You’re coming here with $500 billion, but now I hear you’re building all over India. I don’t want you building in India,” Trump said in May.
Despite Trump’s stance, Apple has been aggressively ramping up production in India, seeking to reduce its heavy reliance on China, where nearly 90% of iPhones are assembled. The company reportedly plans to manufacture 25% of global iPhones in India within the next few years and is preparing a $2.5 billion investment to boost annual production from 40 million to 60 million units.
Big Tech’s Massive US Investments
Trump posed the same question about American investments to the other tech CEOs present:
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Meta (Zuckerberg): $600 billion
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Google (Pichai): Over $100 billion currently, projected to hit $250 billion in two years
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Microsoft (Nadella): $75-80 billion this year in the US
The President hailed the figures as a win for American jobs and innovation, saying:
“That’s great. A lot of jobs, a lot of jobs. We’re proud of you.”
