Salesforce.com, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) CEO Marc Benioff is looking at moving the company’s premier Dreamforce event from San Francisco as the city grapples with homelessness and crime.
Benioff warned that if the event is significantly affected by the city's homelessness and drug use problems, it may be the last Dreamforce held in San Francisco.
Scheduled to take place from September 12 to 14 at the Moscone Center, Dreamforce is San Francisco's largest convention, with an expected attendance of 40,000 people.
Despite San Francisco's ongoing struggles with homelessness and drug-related challenges, recent Dreamforce conferences have not reported major incidents involving these issues.
The conference, which bills itself as the world's largest artificial intelligence event in 2023, features notable speakers such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Stanford AI professor Fei Fei Li, actor Matthew McConaughey, and a performance by the Foo Fighters. Benioff emphasized the importance of the event to San Francisco's economy, projecting a $57 million boost to the downtown area.