Salesforce Inc.’s massive Dreamforce conference will remain in San Francisco next year, after Chief Executive Marc Benioff threatened to move it to another city.
“Get ready for an electrifying experience at Dreamforce 2024! Thrilled to share the news that Dreamforce, the worlds largest enterprise tech conference, will be returning to San Francisco, the stunning city by the bay–and now the AI capital of the world in 2024!” Benioff tweeted Tuesday, along with a selfie of himself and San Francisco Mayor London Breed at a Golden State Warriors game.
“Dreamforce is about showcasing the world-changing ideas that are driving innovation and creativity and there is no better place to do that than the AI Capital of the World — San Francisco!’ Breed tweeted Tuesday.
In August, Benioff told the San Francisco Chronicle that future Dreamforce conferences could be held elsewhere if San Francisco’s homelessness and open drug use adversely affected this year’s event. The conference went off without any major incidents.
This year’s conference, held in September, drew about 40,000 people to San Francisco’s downtown, which is still struggling to recover from the pandemic, and generated an estimated $89.3 million into the local economy, according to the Chronicle.
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The city hopes the success of Dreamforce lures other big conferences — as well as tourists — back to its downtown. San Francisco is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next week, with the leaders of 21 countries — including President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. About 20,000 people are expected to attend, with a roughly $53 million economic impact, according to the Chronicle.