The Brief

Dreamforce 2025 concluded in San Francisco, drawing over 50,000 attendees and highlighting Salesforce’s new AI tools.

CEO Marc Benioff faced backlash after saying he supported allowing President Trump to send the National Guard to the city, a comment he later tried to clarify.

Philanthropist Ron Conway resigned from the Salesforce Foundation Board amid the controversy, while Benioff praised police and reiterated his $1 million pledge to help recruit new officers.

SAN FRANCISCO – The annual Dreamforce conference has drawn to a close, bringing tens of thousands of visitors to San Francisco — but also a fair share of controversy.

The three-day event focused on integrating artificial intelligence into sales software. While it amplified Salesforce’s latest technology, it also shared the spotlight with national politics and a heated debate over public safety in San Francisco.

Benioff’s National Guard comments spark backlash

The backstory

Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff faced criticism after telling The New York Times that he supported the idea of allowing President Trump to deploy the National Guard to San Francisco.

Benioff later attempted to clarify his remarks, saying that his comments stemmed from concern about safety in the city. However, those statements did little to quell the controversy.

Longtime ally Ron Conway resigns

Dig deeper

The fallout deepened when Ron Conway, a philanthropist, venture capitalist, and longtime friend of Benioff, resigned from the Salesforce Foundation Board. As of Thursday afternoon, Conway’s photo still appeared on the foundation’s website next to Benioff’s.

In an email obtained by The New York Times, Conway told Benioff that their values were no longer aligned.

Salesforce responded in a statement, “We have deep gratitude for Ron Conway and his incredible contributions to the Salesforce Foundation Board for over a decade.”

During the opening day of Dreamforce, Benioff said he wanted to focus on Salesforce products but reiterated that safety around the event and city remained his top concern.

“That is the number one thing that’s on my mind — safety,” said Benioff on Tuesday. “It’s our highest value here.”

Many attendees said they felt secure throughout the conference.

“There’s a lot of security, a lot of bag checks. I don’t mind having to scan my bag, but I definitely feel safe,” said Cody Balk of Minnesota. “I don’t think having the National Guard would hurt, but I don’t feel like — at this point, it’s necessary for my safety.”

Joe Ledbetter of Alameda said he took note of Benioff’s comments but didn’t feel they reflected the city’s current condition.

“It definitely gave me pause knowing that what’s happening on the national scale was put in the spotlight here in my home city,” said Ledbetter. Adding that the city “looked cleaner” and felt safer walking around.

Conference wraps

As Dreamforce wrapped up, Benioff posted on social media that this year’s event was the biggest and safest in the conference’s history.

He thanked the San Francisco Police Department and reiterated his $1 million donation to fund signing bonuses aimed at helping the department recruit new officers.

The SFPD confirmed that Dreamforce 2025 “was exceptionally safe.”