Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in San Francisco on November 16, 2023.
David Paul Morris | David Paul Morris Bloomberg | Getty Images
Google has donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, becoming the latest major tech company to try to show goodwill to the incoming administration.
Karan Bhatia, Google’s head of global government affairs and public policy, told CNBC: “Google is excited to support the 2025 Inauguration with a live broadcast on YouTube and a direct link from our homepage .We will also make a donation to the inaugural committee.
The company made the donation Monday. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Yuan At the end of last year, both parties announced a donation of US$1 million to the first fund. Amazon and apple Chief executive Tim Cook also reportedly contributed.
When a candidate wins a U.S. presidential election, they appoint an inaugural committee to organize and fund inaugural events such as opening ceremonies, galas, and parades. Unlike direct contributions to a candidate’s campaign, there is no limit on the amount an individual, company or labor group can contribute to an inaugural committee.
A spokesperson said Google has donated to inaugurations in the past, and the inauguration links on the YouTube livestream and Google homepage are consistent with previous inaugurations.
Trump has had a rocky relationship with major tech companies for years, and he has not shied away from criticism of the industry after the election. He said late last year that he would not rule out antitrust enforcement, which would be a particular pain for Google.
A U.S. federal judge ruled in August that the company had an illegal monopoly on search and text advertising. Arguments in a second antitrust case over Google’s advertising business ended in November, but a verdict has not yet been announced.
“Big Tech has been working like crazy for years to stifle competition in our most innovative industries, and they have been known to use their market power to suppress the rights of many Americans as well as small tech companies!” Trump said on December 4 wrote in a post truth society.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai and former Alphabet president Sergey Brin met with Trump after the election, with Pichai publicly congratulating the president-elect on his “decisive victory” in the election. . a post on X.
—CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report
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