A trio of the tech world's most powerful individuals just joined US President Donald Trump on a state trip to the United Kingdom, and there's a reason worth $42 billion why they all had a meeting with the British royal family.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly playing a key role not only in American politics but governance around the world, as many leading nations aim to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to developing the next major technology.

Donald Trump has already made it a priority for the United States to become the AI capital of the world, affording key infrastructure to be build and easing regulation concerning the environment too.

Following a lavish dinner at the White House a few weeks ago, three of the world's biggest tech leaders have now flown over to the UK to join Trump in a dinner with the royal family, and it's all for one key reason.

Why did tech leaders have dinner with the British Royals?

As reported by the Independent, the reason behind the presence of these tech leaders is due to the new 'tech prosperity deal' worth over £31 billion ($42 billion), as part of a wider investment totalling £150 billion ($203 billion) from companies in the US.

Attending the banquet with King Charles, Donald Trump, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer are Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and OpenAI co-founder and ChatGPT chief executive Sam Altman.

This is a historic first as well as it's the first time that tech leaders have joined a US president on a state visit to the UK, and represents the growing power of these companies in global politics.

Speaking to the Independent, CEO of TechUK Julian David, OBE, outlined that "President Trump's state visit is a pivotal opportunity for the US and UK to deepen their technology partnership," as these funs will be used to create key infrastructure and jobs surrounding AI.

"Our two nations are uniquely placed to lead [on AI]," he continued. "A tech pact can cement joint leadership in AI, quantum and other critical fields, while laying the foundations for a lasting digital trade framework."

Breaking down the significant investment, Microsoft is by far the largest with the behemoth set to invest £22 billion ($30 billion) in the United Kingdom's AI sector, where Nvidia has pledged £11 billion ($15 billion) in what it is calling "the largest AI infrastructure rollout in [UK] history."