Trump headlines July 15th AI-energy summit with tech CEOs in natural gas-rich Pennsylvania

President Trump will headline Sen. Dave McCormick’s inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit on July 15 in Pittsburgh, bringing together leaders from AI and energy industries to discuss their intertwined future. The summit at Carnegie Mellon University represents McCormick’s strategic push to position Pennsylvania—the world’s fourth-largest natural gas producer—as a key battleground for pairing AI development with energy resources in a critical swing state.

The big picture: The summit features an unprecedented gathering of power players from the White House, Big Tech, Big Energy, and building trades.
• Trump’s AI czar David Sacks, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles are all planning to attend.
• Tech heavyweights on the guest list include OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai, and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei.
• Energy sector leaders include ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, Shell CEO Wael Sawan, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, and Pittsburgh-based EQT CEO Toby Rice.

McCormick’s strategic positioning: The newly elected senator, who won in 2024 with Trump’s backing, has been actively promoting Pennsylvania’s energy advantages for AI infrastructure development.
• Energy was central to McCormick’s 2024 campaign, where he criticized his opponent Sen. Bob Casey for insufficient support of the state’s natural gas industry.
• McCormick secured a seat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he chairs the energy subcommittee.
• His office views the state’s energy resources and prime location as a “launchpad for the next wave of AI-driven industry.”

What they’re saying: McCormick emphasized Pennsylvania’s competitive advantages in attracting technology investment.
• “Harnessing Pennsylvania’s unique strengths to attract new data center investment and energy infrastructure development will jumpstart Pennsylvania’s economy, create great, new jobs, and bolster our national security,” McCormick said in a statement.
• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios that Trump and McCormick will be joined by CEOs and leading investors “who are committed to creating thousands of good jobs, developing critical AI infrastructure, and unleashing Pennsylvania’s energy industry.”

Market momentum: Recent investment announcements underscore Pennsylvania’s growing appeal for AI infrastructure.
• Amazon announced plans on Monday to invest $20 billion in the state to build a pair of data center complexes, including one outside Philadelphia.

The energy challenge: While the AI-energy convergence presents opportunities, significant complexities remain around power consumption and infrastructure requirements.
• The amount of energy consumed by AI operations remains largely opaque, creating planning challenges for both industries.

Why this matters: Pennsylvania is emerging as the GOP’s testing ground for combining artificial intelligence ambitions with economic revitalization strategies, potentially setting a template for other energy-rich states seeking to capitalize on the AI boom.