Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in San Francisco on November 16, 2023.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Google Donate $1 million to the president-elect Donald Trump”Q Opening boxto become The latest big technology company To try to gain some goodwill with the incoming administration.
“Google is pleased to support the 2025 inauguration, with a live stream on YouTube and a direct link on our homepage,” Karan Bhatia, global head of government affairs and public policy at Google, told CNBC. “We are also donating to the inauguration committee.” statement.
The company made its donation on Monday. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dead Both announced $1 million in donations to the inaugural fund late last year Amazon and apple CEO Tim Cook also reportedly contributed.
After a candidate wins the presidential election in the United States, they appoint an inaugural committee to organize and fund inaugural events such as inaugural ceremonies, pageants, and parades. In contrast to contributing directly to a candidate's campaign, there are no limits to the amount an individual — or company or labor group — can give to the inaugural committee.
A Google spokesperson said that Google has donated to opening ceremonies in the past, and the live broadcast on YouTube and the link to the opening on the Google home page are consistent with previous opening ceremonies.
Trump has had a tense relationship with big tech companies over the years, and he was not shy about criticizing the sector after the election. He indicated late last year that he would not rule out antitrust action, a particularly sore point for Google.
US federal judge He ruled in August That the company illegally monopolized search and text ads. Arguments in the second antitrust case over Google Advertising business The case was closed in November, although the verdict has not yet been announced.
“Big Tech has run amok for years, stifling competition in our most innovative sector and, as we all know, using their market power to suppress the rights of many Americans, as well as the rights of small tech companies!” Trump wrote in a post dated December 4 Social truth.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai and former Alphabet chief Sergey Brin met with Trump after the election, and Pichai publicly congratulated the president-elect on his “decisive victory” in the election. job On X.
— CNBC's Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report
