President Trump said on Wednesday that Micron, a U.S. chip company, had agreed to invest $250 million in Trump accounts, a new type of investment account for children that was created in last year’s tax bill.
“This incredible gesture, made by Micron’s fantastic CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, will make many children extremely happy some day in the not too distant future,” Mr. Trump said on Truth Social. He called it “the BIGGEST CORPORATE Investment of its kind.”
A Trump account can be opened for any child under 18 with a Social Security number. Individuals, employers and others can deposit money into the accounts, which grow tax-free, like individual retirement accounts. The accounts will be available starting July 4.
There are still big questions about how these accounts will operate, but the administration has been considering using investments from other companies, including those specializing in artificial intelligence and SpaceX, to seed them.
Micron said its $250 million investment would come through an employee matching program in which it planned to match contributions of up to $1,000 per child under 18 for its workers. In addition, the company, which is based in Boise, Idaho, plans to make a one-time $250 deposit into accounts for children in counties where it operates in Idaho, New York State, Virginia, California, Colorado, Minnesota and Texas. Micron said it expected to reach up to one million children with its investment.
“At Micron, we believe investing in people is as important as investing in technology,” Mr. Mehrotra, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Micron’s move comes as the tech industry has assiduously cultivated favor with the Trump administration. Seventeen chief executives, including Tim Cook of Apple, Elon Musk of SpaceX and Tesla, and Jensen Huang of Nvidia, joined Mr. Trump on a recent trip to China. Many tech companies and their leaders have supported other initiatives by the president, including his construction of a ballroom at the White House.
In December, Michael Dell, the founder of the technology giant Dell, and his wife, Susan, announced a $6.25 billion donation to support Trump accounts. The Dells earmarked their money for children under 10 living in ZIP codes where the median household income was below $150,000.
Micron, which makes memory chips, has been riding high as the boom in artificial intelligence has created intense demand for its products. In May, the company crossed $1 trillion in market value for the first time.
Tyler Pager contributed reporting.