By Jackie Davalos, Bloomberg
Top Silicon Valley executives lavished praise on the Trump administration, supporting its efforts to cut the size of the federal government and create more business opportunities for US tech companies during a summit with lawmakers and officials.
The increasingly cozy relationship between tech and the White House was evident throughout Wednesday’s Hill and Valley Forum. The daylong conference hit on some favorite talking points in tech circles, including artificial intelligence applications in national security, the growing AI arms race with China and the need for “securing leadership in space.”
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang applauded the new administration for its efforts to support “onshoring manufacturers.” Meanwhile, Oracle CEO Safra Catz expressed unbridled enthusiasm for working with Washington following President Donald Trump’s support of her company’s Stargate infrastructure venture. “I think this is the most exciting time we’ve ever had,” she said. “I’ve spent a lot of time around Washington. The opportunities are huge.”
Members of the Trump administration spoke Silicon Valley’s language, too. “I want everyone to appreciate and understand that the administration is absolutely dedicated to reforming the way we acquire technology,” said National Security Advisor Michael Waltz. “We have to move at commercial pace — at tech pace.”
Hill and Valley has evolved from a secretive dinner of China hawks raising alarms about the influence of TikTok into a public forum stacked with decision-makers vying to support the defense sector and ensure US technology supremacy. But the event also broadened its focus beyond defense, underscoring the tech industry’s growing influence shaping US policy.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst, for example, is set to participate in discussions about building a “smarter, leaner government,” and top White House economist Stephen Miran will speak on a panel about using robotics to revive the US manufacturing sector.
Since Trump returned to the White House, tech executives and VCs have taken positions in the administration, helping oversee AI and crypto policy, among other efforts. The industry has also played a key role in trying to cut government spending through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“I would say rule one: Keep it as simple as possible. That is probably the one thing that the government really has not gotten a handle on, and that DOGE is pushing right through,” Catz said in her remarks.
Jacob Helberg, who helped launch Hill and Valley, was recently appointed as under secretary of state responsible for economic and tech-related issues. Another event organizer, Delian Asparouhov, is a partner at Founders Fund, the investment firm started by Peter Thiel, who is closely connected to various Trump officials, including Vice President JD Vance.
“When you first started this forum, it was in a small room that, you know, you can fit five people in,” Palantir CEO Alex Karp said. “Now you have everyone who should be here, and as far as I can tell, everyone in DC talking about it.”
In a social media post this week teasing the lineup, Helberg suggested this year’s event highlights a sea change in the industry. “It was once pious in the Valley to walk away from the US government,” he wrote. Now, more tech leaders are pushing deeper into DC to influence how the country is run.
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