Biden and Modi meet Apple, Google CEOs and other executives as Indian premier wraps state visit

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday opened the final day of the Indian prime minister's four-day U.S. visit by meeting top American and Indian executives as the leaders look to increase cooperation on artificial intelligence, semiconductor production and space.

The leaders are putting a spotlight on the “Innovation Handshake," a new initiative aimed at addressing regulatory hurdles that stand in the way of cooperation between the two countries and promoting job growth in emerging technologies.

“Our countries are taking innovation and cooperation to new levels,” Biden told the group, which included Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “We’re going to see more technological change … in the next 10 years than we’ve seen in the last 50 years.”

White House officials say India's deep talent pool will be crucial in building more resilient supply chains and developing technology to address climate change. All this comes as the administration has sought to put the U.S.-India relationship on a higher plane in the face of an ascendant China in the Indo-Pacific.

Modi commended Biden for seeing “the possibility that India represents.”

“This is definitely a guarantee for a bright future,” Modi added.

As part of Modi's state's visit — the first by an Indian leader since Manmohan Singh in 2009 — the two leaders announced several major investments by U.S.-based companies in India.

Micron Technology has agreed to build a $2.75 billion semiconductor assembly and test facility in India, with Micron spending more than $800 million and India financing the rest. U.S.-based Applied Materials will launch a new semiconductor center for commercialization and innovation in India, and Lam Research, another...