Energy and Innovation summit: Trump says $92bn to be invested in Pennsylvania for AI and tech

Countering China is at top of agenda at bipartisan conference

President Donald Trump, second from the right, speaking at the "Inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Event" at Carnegie Mellon University, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Pittsburgh. With the President are from left, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa. , and Jon Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer, Blackstone. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)Show less

US President Donald Trump pushed his vision on powering energy-hungry artificial intelligence, during the first Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit.

At a discussion on Tuesday, Mr Trump claimed that more than 20 technology and energy companies had decided to invest $92 billion in Pennsylvania.

"This is really a triumphant day for the people of the Commonwealth," he told the event, led by Republican US Senator Dave McCormick, in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon University.

“This summit is about catalysing $90 billion of investment and tens of thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania,” Mr McCormick said.

He also referred to the increasingly adversarial relationship between the US and China as he set the stage for the day's agenda.

“If we don't lead this AI revolution on our own terms, we will hand control of our infrastructure, data, leadership and way of life to the Chinese Communist Party,” Mr McCormick said.

With AI continuing to expand into all aspects of life, the burden it places on the US energy grid is becoming more of an issue, as policymakers try to keep America leading the global race for AI dominance.

According to a report from the US Energy Department, data centres used about 4.4 per cent of total electricity in the country in 2024. By 2028, that share could increase to 12 per cent.

By most estimates, a query to ChatGPT uses 10 times more energy than a similar search on Google.

The event has featured panels and discussions on energy and AI, including how to best meet the energy needs created by the technology, and looking at the efficiencies that AI could create in the years ahead. There were also discussions about the need for data centres to keep up with the AI investment boom and increased user demand.

Meta’s Facebook data centre in Eagle Mountain. AFP

During the opening panel discussion, alternative asset management firm Blackstone made a $25 billion investment in building data centres in Pennsylvania.

Investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders from around the world are attending the event.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Mubadala’s managing director and chief executive and chairman of the UAE Executive Affairs Authority, made the trip to Pittsburgh.

Lim Chow Kiat, chief executive of Singapore's Government Investment Corporation, was also invited.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright were among the White House officials in attendance.

Alex Karp, chief executive of AI firm Palantir, Joseph Dominguez, Constellation Energy chief, and Jake Loosararian, founder of Gecko Robotics, also took part.

As proof of how bipartisan AI and energy issues have become, Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro, a staunch critic of Mr Trump and a possible contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential race, is scheduled to attend.

From left, Joseph Dominguez, Constellation Energy chief executive, Bobby Hollis of Microsoft and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro at the former Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. Reuters

For coal, fracking and even nuclear power, Pennsylvania has become the centre of the US energy renaissance. A few weeks ago, Mr Shapiro attended a nuclear energy rally to celebrate a partnership with Microsoft at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in the state, which will soon reopen under a different name. Nuclear energy is seen by many supporters of AI as a way to strengthen the energy grid as use of the technology expands.

But critics fear the content of the event will be taken over by politics. A day before the event, Carnegie Mellon University's president, Farnam Jahanian, acknowledged the politically charged backdrop against which the conference was taking place.

“I recognise that CMU’s decision to host the summit has prompted concern and disagreement among some members of our community,” Mr Jahanian said, pointing out his disagreements with Mr Trump on issues concerning education funding.

“At the same time, I firmly believe that higher education must be a convener – a catalyst for ideas and partnerships that shape our future.”

On Tuesday, Mr Jahanian said CMU, with its roots in technology, was the perfect host for the summit, which was a “defining moment for our country and humanity”. He said AI was “the most important intellectual development of our time”.

An increasingly adversarial relationship between the US and China has spilt over into a race for AI dominance. Getty Images