Argentinian President Javier Milei is embarking on a trip to Silicon Valley in California, where he will have private meetings with several high-profile individuals, including top tech CEOs. The purpose of these meetings, as reported by the press, is to promote business relations between Argentina and the tech industry.
During a one-hour meeting on May 28, Milei spoke to Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI and Worldcoin, about the vast possibilities that a libertarian Argentina can offer. Alex Blania, the co-founder and CEO of Tools for Humanity, the main developer of the Worldcoin project, was also present at the meeting. This was Milei’s second meeting with these individuals, as Worldcoin had been active in Argentina in the summer of 2023, despite facing political opposition.
In addition to Altman and Blania, Milei is scheduled to meet with other tech luminaries such as Sundar Pichai from Alphabet, Mark Zuckerberg from Meta, and Tim Cook from Apple. He will also meet with a group of start-up and artificial intelligence entrepreneurs, and deliver a speech at the Pacific Summit.
This visit to the United States marks Milei’s fourth during his term as President, which began on December 10 after a runoff election. He is accompanied by a group of high-ranking officials from Argentina.
Among the other notable figures Milei will meet are former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. On May 28, Milei also had a conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, during which they reportedly discussed the situation in Gaza.
High-tech investment would greatly benefit Argentina, a country grappling with economic troubles caused by inflation. While Milei has managed to reduce inflation from 133% to 50% during his relatively short term, he remains a divisive figure domestically. However, his frequent meetings with business leaders have helped bolster his image.
During his campaign, Milei positioned himself as a supporter of cryptocurrency and vowed to dissolve the country’s central bank. However, he has disappointed many of his supporters by reneging on many of these promises.
Despite this, regulators from Argentina and El Salvador met on May 23 to discuss the latter’s experience with Bitcoin as a legal tender. Milei will depart from the United States on May 31 and attend the inauguration of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele for his second term.
Source: Jon Hartley