Incidents and actions from tracked entities.
Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia joined Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in January 2025. He revealed he voted for Trump and attended RFK Jr's confirmation hearing. The move caused host backlash, with many threatening to leave the Airbnb platform. Airbnb distanced itself from Gebbia, stating he joined 'in his personal capacity.'
On January 21, 2025, Masayoshi Son appeared at the White House Roosevelt Room alongside Larry Ellison and Sam Altman to announce Stargate, a joint venture between SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle. Son promised Trump that Stargate would invest $500 billion to build a nationwide network of AI data centers and power plants. Son was named Chairman of the Stargate Project.
On Trump's first full day in office (January 21, 2025), Oracle founder Larry Ellison appeared at the White House alongside OpenAI's Sam Altman and SoftBank's Masayoshi Son to unveil Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure project. Ellison had notably skipped the inauguration the day before but was given prominent access the following day.
In January 2025, a Delaware judge sanctioned Sandberg for allegedly deleting emails from a personal account despite being instructed to preserve them during 2018 shareholder lawsuit over Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. Meta later settled the investor lawsuit for over $5 billion in FTC fines.
In January 2025, OpenAI announced Greg Brockman would lead the Stargate project, a $500 billion joint venture with SoftBank and Oracle to build AI data center infrastructure in the United States. The project was announced at the White House with President Trump, representing one of the largest public-private AI infrastructure investments in history. Brockman returned from a sabbatical specifically to lead this initiative.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew attended Donald Trump's January 2025 inauguration, seated prominently near the cabinet. This came as TikTok faced a potential US ban under a law requiring ByteDance to divest. Trump signed an executive order pausing enforcement for 75 days.
Pinterest's CLO Wanji Walcott penned a reflection on MLK Day 2025 stating: 'It's never been more important to create spaces where everyone feels welcome... That view is a core part of what makes Pinterest strong as a company and as a platform—and we will not waver in that belief.' While the company listed DEI attacks as a possible business risk in its 2024 10-K filing, it continues its diversity programs.
On January 20, 2025, Marc Benioff posted on X congratulating Trump on becoming the 47th President. This marked a significant shift from his history as a major Democratic donor who had given over $1.3 million to Democratic campaigns since 2011. Benioff did not attend the inauguration or donate to the inaugural fund, citing Time magazine ownership.
On January 20, 2025, Chuck Robbins posted congratulations to Trump on X, stating Cisco 'looks forward to working with your administration to securely connect America, build world class innovations, & advance a pro-growth tax system.' As Business Roundtable chair, Robbins advised business peers that dealing with Trump requires 'Engagement, pure and simple.'
Elon Musk attended Trump's second inauguration on January 20, 2025, seated on the platform with other notable guests including Cabinet nominees. He also spoke at Trump's inaugural rally at Capital One Arena.
Jensen Huang did not attend Trump's January 20, 2025 inauguration, unlike most major tech CEOs. He was instead in Beijing for Nvidia's annual meeting, telling reporters 'We have many partners in China, we have been working here for about 25 years... we will continue to cooperate.' Nvidia still donated $1M to the inauguration fund.
Ericsson donated $500,000 (5.5 million SEK) to Trump's Presidential Inauguration Committee, the company's first-ever inauguration donation. CEO Börje Ekholm stated: 'We have a very large market share in the USA and we must be able to work with whoever sits in the White House.' A spokesperson said it 'underscores our commitment to the U.S.'
Jeff Bezos attended Trump's second inauguration on January 20, 2025, seated prominently with other tech billionaires behind Trump as he was sworn in. Bezos had previously called Trump in July 2024 to recommend VP candidates and dined at Mar-a-Lago. After the election, Bezos posted congratulations praising Trump's 'extraordinary political comeback.'
Lyft notably did not donate to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund, while competitor Uber donated $2 million. Lyft also maintained its pledge not to fund members of Congress who supported election denial claims after January 6, 2021.
On January 20, 2025, Greg Brockman attended Donald Trump's presidential inauguration along with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and CPO Kevin Weil. The attendance was part of a broader tech industry presence at the inauguration, signaling OpenAI leadership's alignment with the incoming administration.
Palantir's Investigative Case Management (ICM) system, also known as ImmigrationOS, is used by ICE for immigration enforcement operations. The contract has been expanded under the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda. Civil rights groups have criticized Palantir for enabling family separations and deportations.
NVIDIA donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inauguration fund, contributing to the record $239 million raised. This came despite the company's stated policy of not making political contributions.
Palantir secured $970.5 million in federal contracts in early 2025, including major deals with defense and intelligence agencies. The company's stock soared as investors anticipated increased government spending on its data analytics platforms under the Trump administration.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin attended Donald Trump's second inauguration on January 20, 2025, sitting alongside Trump supporters and other tech moguls. This marked a significant shift from 2017 when Brin protested Trump's immigration policies. He also dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in December 2024.
NVIDIA Corporation made a seven-figure donation to President Donald Trump's $239 million inauguration. CEO Jensen Huang met with Trump at the White House, attended a $1 million per plate Mar-a-Lago dinner, and stated 'I'd be delighted to go see him and congratulate him.' After the Mar-a-Lago visit, plans for export controls on NVIDIA's H20 chip were paused, raising ethics concerns about quid-pro-quo arrangements.
Bloomberg reported that more than a dozen people with ties to Peter Thiel and Founders Fund were placed in the Trump administration in 2025. These include Founders Fund partner Trae Stephens (considered for Deputy Secretary of Defense), Anduril executive Colin Carroll (Chief of Staff at DoD), Palantir engineer Clark Minor (CIO at HHS), and David Sacks (White House AI and Crypto Czar). ProPublica reported that GSA fast-tracked a contract process favoring Ramp, a Founders Fund portfolio company invested in across seven rounds. The revolving door between Founders Fund's network and the administration raises conflicts of interest as portfolio companies stand to benefit from government contracts influenced by these appointees.
On January 20, 2025, DHH published a blog post praising Trump's return to the presidency, writing that 'the majority of Americans are optimistic about the prospect' and describing the moment as 'exhilarating.' He contrasted American confidence favorably with European pessimism. This followed earlier anti-DEI blog posts in 2023 that led Duke University Libraries to drop Basecamp.
On January 20, 2025, Mark Zuckerberg attended Donald Trump's second presidential inauguration with priority seating ahead of Cabinet members, alongside Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Zuckerberg also co-hosted an inaugural reception.
On January 20, 2025, Mark Zuckerberg co-hosted a private reception for Trump's inauguration alongside Republican billionaire donors including Miriam Adelson, Tilman Fertitta, and Todd Ricketts. Zuckerberg was also granted prime seating during Trump's swearing-in in the Capitol Rotunda, alongside Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, and Elon Musk. This marked a dramatic shift from Zuckerberg's 2021 decision to ban Trump from Facebook/Instagram.
On January 19, 2025, a Waymo robotaxi was stopped in a line of cars when a speeding driver rear-ended the queue, killing a passenger in another vehicle. This was the first fatal crash involving a Waymo vehicle. Analysis indicates the Waymo vehicle was not at fault - it was stationary in traffic when struck from behind.
Spotify USA donated $150,000 to the Presidential Inauguration Committee and held a celebratory brunch on the eve of Trump's swearing-in. A spokesperson stated the donation aimed to 'continue expanding presence in Washington D.C.' and was 'in line with work we do in capitals around the world to promote our policy issues, regardless of who is in power.'
In January 2025, the US Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19, 2025 or face a ban. The court found the law sufficiently tailored to address national security concerns over data collection practices by a foreign adversary affecting 170 million US users. TikTok briefly went dark for US users on January 18-19 before Trump issued executive orders delaying enforcement. A consortium including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX eventually acquired 80% of TikTok US operations in a deal that closed January 2026.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Block to pay up to $175 million ($120M in consumer refunds, $55M penalty) after finding Cash App employed weak security protocols, conducted incomplete fraud investigations, provided misleading customer service (phone number led to a pre-recorded message, not live support), and failed to act on knowledge that customers were being targeted by fraudsters impersonating Cash App representatives. Block also shifted responsibility to banks while blocking them from reversing fraudulent transactions.
In January 2025, Block Inc. agreed to pay $120 million in consumer refunds and a $55 million fine to settle CFPB allegations that Cash App allowed rampant fraud while misleading customers. The CFPB found Block's fraud investigations were 'woefully incomplete' and that the company relied on Terms of Service to deflect responsibility. Block also agreed to establish 24-hour customer service.
OpenAI quietly changed its 'Commitment to Diversity' website page to now read 'Building Dynamic Teams' and removed all mentions of diversity and inclusion from the page.