Dreamforce kicks off in SF, drawing in more than 40,000 with focus on artificial intelligence
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Salesforce's annual Dreamforce conference kicked off in San Francisco at the Moscone Center on Tuesday.
It's drawing a star-studded cast of celebrities, tech bosses and politicians with one main focus: the future of artificial intelligence.
About 43,000 people are descending on what Salesforce calls "Dreamforce National Park" at the Moscone Center, which has been transformed into an oasis of forestry, technology and wonder for the world's largest AI event.
"The sharing, I've never seen anything like it because the people are just so giving of their time, their knowledge and you can't put a price on it," Steve Molis, a Boston resident said.
RELATED: Dreamforce 2023 transforms San Francisco's Moscone Center, surrounding streets
Molis has attended every in-person Dreamforce since 2009.
"And never gets old, never gets tired, like there's always something to learn, someone new to meet, or that wants to meet me, it never gets old!" he said.
He's one of more than 40,000 people expected to attend the three-day event in-person.
Throughout the jam-packed week, Dreamforce is expected to showcase more than 70 AI leaders from across the globe.
MORE: Apple unveils the iPhone 15, Apple Watch Series 9. Here's what to know
The conference kicked off with a greeting from Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff took center stage and reminded attendees that they are on the cutting edge.
"New chapters opened this year in A.I. We know that. It's amazing what happened in A.I.," said Benioff.
"He's such a visionary. I've been at the company for 12 years. There's a reason for that. We continue to push the envelope on innovation," said Salesforce employee Emily Tan.
"I like his idea that we want to integrate all of our data into one location," said Paul Trively from Atlanta.
Many attendees told ABC7 News another reason they were eager to attend the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco.
"This is the one place that everyone looks at as the mecca of innovation," said Rinoy Varkey of Fremont.
A few weeks ago, Benioff talked about the possibility of moving Dreamforce, if challenges facing the city of San Francisco like homelessness, drug use, or crime have an effect on Dreamforce.
Today, Benioff said, "We want to welcome everyone to San Francisco-our home. We want you to have a great time and a safe time as well."
Mayor London Breed stands behind the efforts San Francisco has made to get ready for Dreamforce.
"To be clear, Dreamforce has been here now for at least 10 years- since the very beginning- and they have not had any problems with their conventions here in the past, and they won't into the future," said Breed. "This is home for Marc and Salesforce and they are continuing to be committed to our city."
First-timer, Jeronica Jenkins out of St. Louis, has been looking forward to this convention.
"Looking forward with what we might be able to do especially with our customer care and our digital channels, being able to automate more using machine learning to really build out more some of our product so super excited about that," Jenkins said.
Salesforce says they're projecting Dreamforce to generate $89.3 million for the city.
MORE: The future of SF's biggest conference could be in question due to the homeless crisis
And with an increased police presence around the Moscone center, Jenkins says she had no reservations about this trip.
"I'm from St. Louis, we get the same thing so I feel really safe, here, we have not had any issues, great hotel, great environment, super walkable so I really like it," she said.
People attending Dreamforce are also in for a star-studded event, with appearances on stage from Dr. Jane Goodall, Matthew McConaughey and Rainn Wilson.
If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
