Key facts
- President Donald Trump awarded National Medals of Science and Technology on Oct. 8, 2026.
- Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Jensen Huang, and Lisa Su received the National Medal of Science.
- Michael Dell and Satya Nadella received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
- The awards were presented at the 'Science: A New Golden Age Summit'.
- Nvidia committed $1 billion over five years to US scientific research.
- Microsoft donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inaugural fund.
President Donald Trump presented the National Medals of Science and the National Medals of Technology and Innovation to six prominent tech leaders on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at the 'Science: A New Golden Age Summit.' The awards recognized significant contributions to science, engineering, and technological innovation, signaling the administration's focus on AI, semiconductors, and space as pillars of American power.
Recipients of the National Medal of Science included SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and AMD CEO Lisa Su. Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella were awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
The event also highlighted financial connections between some recipients, their companies, and Trump's political activities. Elon Musk reportedly spent at least $288 million supporting Republican candidates in the 2024 election cycle, according to federal filings. Alphabet's YouTube settled a lawsuit with Trump for $24.5 million, with a portion directed to the Trust for the National Mall. Nvidia announced a five-year commitment valued at $1 billion to advance US scientific research in areas like quantum computing and energy security. Microsoft had previously donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inaugural fund. Additionally, AMD disclosed in August 2025 that US officials expected the government to receive 15% of revenue from licensed sales of certain chips to China, though no formal regulation had been published.
Chinese analysts have expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of Trump's 'golden age' initiative and his alliance with Silicon Valley, despite warnings that it could put China on alert.