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SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son smiles with President-elect Donald Trump during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

What does Big Tech hope to gain from warming up to Trump?

In a string of visits, dinners, calls, monetary pledges and social media overtures, big tech chiefs have joined a parade of business and world leaders in trying to improve their standing with President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January

By AP News
Published - Dec 17, 2024, 06:56 PM ET
Last Updated - Dec 17, 2024, 06:56 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — In a string of visits, dinners, calls, monetary pledges and social media overtures, big tech chiefs — including Apple's Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, SoftBank's Masayoshi Son and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — have joined a parade of business and world leaders in trying to improve their standing with President-elect Donald Trump before he takes office in January.

“The first term, everybody was fighting me,” Trump said in remarks at Mar-a-Lago. “In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.”

Tech companies and leaders have now poured millions into his inauguration fund, a sharp increase — in most cases — from past pledges to incoming presidents. But what does the tech industry expect to gain out of their renewed relationships with Trump?

During an interview Tuesday, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said the incoming Trump administration seems more interested in hearing about issues that are important to the industry than the Biden administration.

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