OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has pledged a $1 million personal donation to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, reports Financial Times.
This move is seen as another gesture of support from major tech corporations and Silicon Valley toward the U.S. president-elect, according to the publication. Previously, Meta, Amazon, and the search engine Perplexity also announced $1 million donations to the fund.
Tech firms are aiming to build stronger relationships with the Republican leader ahead of his inauguration in January next year, the newspaper notes. This marks a shift from 2016, when Trump’s election victory was met with a colder response from investors and tech entrepreneurs. At the time, Altman had called Trump’s win “the worst thing to happen in my lifetime.”
This time, Trump has forged closer ties with the tech community, appearing on popular podcasts like *The Joe Rogan Experience* and *All-In*, hosted by four prominent Silicon Valley investors. He has also appointed entrepreneurs, including Elon Musk, to key positions in his administration, the report concludes.
