PITTSBURGH — The leaders of America’s renaissance in energy, technology, manufacturing, labor, and artificial intelligence are coming together with President Donald Trump for the inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) said the event will bring all stakeholders to the same room on a scale never seen before.
“We are in a second renaissance in this country, and the driver of all of it is coming out of Pennsylvania with tech, energy, and AI,” McCormick told the Washington Examiner of the summit’s importance.
Recommended Stories
- Democrats are in a bubble on illegal immigration
- Trump is burning every US alliance
- Bad books of summer
McCormick said he and Trump began discussing the summit after last November’s election.
“The idea that AI is dependent on the basic raw materials of Pennsylvania is significant for our economy, and the impact it will have for the workforce in the building trades, well, I just love it,” McCormick said.
According to McCormick, holding the event at Carnegie Mellon University is equally significant.
“It is where the merger of the best AI minds and software developers are located, we will all be drawing talent from the best engineers from Pitt and Penn State, and the best biotech guys from Penn and merging them with the best local welders and the best steam fitters and the best electricians,” he said beaming.
Trump, who announced a half-trillion-dollar private-sector investment in American AI infrastructure on his second day in office, told the Washington Examiner last week that his administration is prioritizing the race for AI dominance.
“And Pennsylvania’s abundant energy will be at the heart of that, along with the workers you have here who are ready to go,” Trump said.
McCormick said White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Trump’s AI czar David Sacks, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright are among the top officials who will be at the summit.
Dozens of the nation’s top minds in tech will attend the summit as well, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, according to McCormick.
On the energy side, Shell CEO Wael Sawan, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, and Pittsburgh-based natural gas giant EQT CEO Toby Rice will also attend.
Rice told the Washington Examiner EQT is honored to join the inaugural summit, which he called a pivotal event to spotlight Pennsylvania’s essential role in powering the American AI revolution.
“This summit captures the high-stakes convergence of energy, technology, and policy, and the urgent need for collaboration to keep the United States at the forefront of global innovation,” Rice said.
Rice said the Trump administration’s presence and the bold leadership of McCormick speak volumes about the national importance of this dialogue.
“We’re proud to stand alongside visionary partners who share our mission: to drive American competitiveness, secure our energy future, and unleash the full potential of AI,” he said.
The news of the energy summit came days after McCormick joined Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) to announce that Amazon will invest $20 billion in developing AI campuses across Pennsylvania, beginning with facilities in Bucks and Luzerne counties.
That project will create at least 1,250 permanent, high-paying jobs in addition to thousands of construction roles.
The summit will follow the game-changing deal between US Steel and Nippon Steel in western Pennsylvania, which will see an additional $17 billion invested in aging mills.
American steel plays an important role in the American natural gas energy sector through transportation, storage, and building infrastructure used for generation. The materials used to manufacture steel are also crucial for building AI hardware and infrastructure.
Last month, another multibillion-dollar natural gas AI project was announced in Homer City, Pennsylvania, located in Indiana County. The project will include $10 billion in investments and create 10,000 jobs.
McCormick said all of these moving parts are making Pennsylvania once again the center of an industrial revolution.
“We were at the center of the Industrial Revolution with the discovery of oil in Titusville, which contributed to the boom in steel and oil production and the railroad industry,” he said of the 1859 discovery that changed the region from agrarian to industrial.
AI PROVISION IN ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ SPLITS REPUBLICANS
McCormick expressed excitement at everything coming together.
“Having all of these leaders in tech, energy, and labor with President Trump leading the way with this AI revolution and energy innovation is a powerful thing. Having them all rely on all the unique things Pennsylvania makes is even better,” he said.