Tech executives, attempting to ease tensions with President-elect Donald Trump, are opening up their wallets after the former president staged a historic return to the White House.

OpenAI confirmed on Friday that its chief executive, Sam Altman, is planning to personally donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, becoming the latest tech billionaire trying to improve their rocky relationship with the new administration.

Meta, parent company of popular social media apps Facebook and Instagram, also confirmed it donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Amazon didn’t respond to a request for comment, but it is reportedly planning to donate the same amount to Trump’s inaugural fund.

While tech companies have given to previous presidential inaugurations, the donations come as Trump and Republicans look at reshaping policies that impact social media, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and more.

Trump has criticized Big Tech in the past, accusing some of the world’s largest online platforms such as Meta and Google of censoring conservative speech. The platforms have long denied these allegations, but the tech industry’s relationship with Republicans became increasingly fraught after social media companies temporarily suspended Trump’s accounts following the Jan. 6, 2001, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

During Trump’s first presidency, tech executives, including from Google, Facebook and Apple, clashed with his administration for banning immigrants from certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

Trump’s campaign, backed by Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk, and other major tech companies didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Here are the tech executives and companies that have donated to Trump’s inauguration:

OpenAI

Altman said in a statement that “President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI” and Altman was “eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead.”

Federal and state lawmakers, including in California, have been trying to place guardrails around the development of artificial intelligence. While AI-powered tools can make it easier for people to sift through large amounts of information, the technology’s rapid development has also raised concerns about national security, disinformation and job losses.

But as tech companies face stiff competition, including from China, they’re also worried that regulation could slow them down.

Trump has said he plans to reverse President Biden’s 2023 executive order on AI, which aimed to address some of the safety concerns surrounding AI, and analysts anticipate Trump could make a big push for AI innovation.

Altman has also sparred with Musk, a vocal supporter of Trump who spent at least $200 million to back the former president’s 2024 campaign and is looking at ways to slash government spending, over AI safety concerns. Musk, an early investor in OpenAI who also runs rival AI startup XAI, has accused the company of putting profits and commercial interests ahead of the public good. OpenAI, controlled by a nonprofit board, is reportedly trying to restructure as a for-profit benefit corporation.

At the New York Times DealBook Summit this year, Altman didn’t appear too worried about Musk’s strong ties to Trump. “I believe pretty strongly that Elon will do the right thing and that it would be profoundly un-American to use political power to the degree that Elon would hurt competitors and advantage his own businesses,” he said.

Meta

It’s the first time Meta has donated to a presidential inaugural fund, but the company has previously supported both parties’ convention committees, Meta spokesman Andy Stone said in an e-mail.

Meta’s $1-million donation to the Trump inaugural fund was made at Zuckerberg’s request, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Zuckerberg, who expressed concerns about Trump’s immigration policies during his first presidency, has been strengthening ties with Trump. He met with Trump over dinner at his private Mar-a-Lago club and gifted him a pair of Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, according to the Journal.

After an attempted assassination of Trump in July, Zuckerberg told Bloomberg in an interview that Trump’s reaction of raising his fist in the air was “one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Trump’s campaign has floated proposals that would affect online platforms including legislation to “drastically limit the ability of big social media platforms to restrict free speech.”

Jeff Bezos reportedly plans to meet the president-elect at his Mar-a-Lago club next week, and Amazon is also expected to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.

(Charles Krupa / Associated Press)

Amazon

Bezos is also trying to win over Trump and plans to meet the president-elect at his Mar-a-Lago club next week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The e-commerce giant contributed to Trump’s first presidential inauguration in 2017, donating roughly $58,000. (Biden reportedly wasn’t accepting tech donations for his 2021 inauguration.)

Trump has sparred with Amazon in the past, falsely accusing the Bezos-owned Washington Post of being a lobbyist for the tech giant. Trump also accused Amazon of a “post office scam.”

Bezos’ companies could benefit from Trump administration policies. Amazon Web Services and its space company, Blue Origin, which competes with SpaceX, has contracts with the federal government and has been striking a more friendly tone with Trump, according to a report from the Washington Post.

At the New York Times’ DealBook Summit, Bezos appeared optimistic about the new administration and noted that Trump “seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation.”

“If I can help him do that, I’m going to help him, because we do have too much regulation in this country,” Bezos said.

The premier of a key oil region in Canada is threatening to cut off energy and critical mineral exports to the U.S. if President-elect Donald Trump implements a sweeping tariff on all Canadian products. 

Trump recently threatened a 25% tariff on all Canadian and Mexican exports in an effort to stop the flow of illegal immigration and illicit drugs coming into the U.S.

Just days after Trump’s announcement, Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, said that he would consider retaliatory measures against the U.S. if the incoming president acted on his promise.

“We will go to the extent of cutting off their energy – going down to Michigan, going down to New York State and over to Wisconsin,” Ford, who represents a region known for its crude oil production, told reporters. 

TRUMP TAUNTS TRUDEAU WITH NEW TITLE AS HE CONTINUES TARIFFS PUSH: ‘GREAT STATE OF CANADA’

The premier added that other officials in the country are reportedly identifying ways they can hurt U.S. exports if Trump enacts a tariff.

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL ISSUE EXECUTIVE ORDER TO CHARGE CANADA, MEXICO 25% TARIFF ON GOODS UPON TAKING OFFICE

“Some premiers proactively identified products that their provinces produce and export to the United States and which the U.S. relies on, and which should be considered as part of the Canadian response. This included some critical minerals and metals,” Ford said.

Canada was reportedly the largest source of U.S. energy imports in 2019, according to the Energy Information Administration. 

President-elect Donald Trump threatened a 25% tariff on Canada. (Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty Images)

“Canadians get hurt, but I can assure you one thing: the Americans are going to feel the pain as well, and isn’t that unfortunate?” Ford said.

Ford is also reportedly considering barring American-made alcohol from being sold in Ontario. 

Ford, however, might not be able to unilaterally cut off the province’s energy supply to the U.S., according to a Canadian political science professor.

“I do not believe Ontario could unilaterally stop electricity exports to the U.S. without Ottawa’s approval. Similarly, Michigan cannot unilaterally stop the flow of western Canadian natural gas to eastern Canada without Washington’s approval,” University of Toronto political science Professor Nelson Wiseman told Now Toronto in response to Ford’s retaliatory threat.

President-elect Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently met in Palm Beach, Florida.   (Nicholas Kamm)

Trump responded to the threats, saying “that’s okay if he does that.”

“The United States is subsidizing Canada, and we shouldn’t have to do that,” Trump told CNBC at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. “And we have a great relationship. I have so many friends in Canada, but we shouldn’t have to subsidize a country.”

After Trump threatened a tariff on the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida, to meet with the incoming president at Mar-a-Lago. Trump called it a “very productive meeting.” 

WASHINGTON —  Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) was admitted to a hospital for evaluation after she sustained an injury during an official engagement while traveling with a bipartisan congressional delegation in Luxembourg, according to her spokesperson.

“Speaker Emerita Pelosi is currently receiving excellent treatment from doctors and medical professionals,” her spokesperson Ian Krager wrote in a statement. “She continues to work and regrets that she is unable to attend the remainder of the [congressional delegation] engagements to honor the courage of our servicemembers during one of the greatest acts of American heroism in our nation’s history.”

The trip to Luxembourg is to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. Krager wrote that Pelosi was honored to travel with the delegation, many of whom had family members who fought in World War II — including her uncle, Johnny.

This is a developing story.