Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in San Francisco on Nov. 16, 2023.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Google donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, becoming the latest major tech company to try and curry some goodwill with the incoming administration.
“Google is pleased to support the 2025 inauguration, with a livestream on YouTube and a direct link on our homepage. We’re also donating to the inaugural committee,” Karan Bhatia, Google’s global head of government affairs and public policy, told CNBC in a statement.
The company made its donation on Monday. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Meta both announced $1 million donations to the inaugural fund late last year, and Amazon and Apple CEO Tim Cook have also reportedly contributed.
After a candidate wins the presidential election in the U.S., they appoint an inaugural committee to organize and finance inaugural events like the opening ceremonies, galas and the parade. Unlike a direct contribution to a candidate’s campaign, there are no limits on how much an individual — or a corporation or labor group — can give to an inaugural committee.
Google has donated to inaugurals in the past, and the YouTube livestream and link to the inauguration on Google’s homepage are in line with previous inaugurations, a spokesperson said.
— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report