Thousands crowd downtown San Francisco for Day 1 of Dreamforce
Thousands of tech industry insiders and career hopefuls crowded downtown San Francisco's streets for the first day of Dreamforce, the world's largest AI conference.
The event lasts for only three days and offers its more than 40, 000 attendees the opportunity to learn about the latest industry upgrades, hear a barrage of keynote speakers, and network with leaders in tech.
Jessica Gopalakrishnan, the senior marketing director of Cognigy Inc will attend each day and is looking forward to the rest of the week.
Gopalakrishnan lives in Oakland and rarely finds herself on the other side of the Bay Bridge, but this week she was shocked at what she saw: clear streets and heavy police presence.
"It's very safe and clean from what I've seen," Gopalakrishnan said.
Police cornered 4th and Mission streets offering security and traffic relief for congestion building on surrounding streets.
"Walking around I feel really at ease and comfortable," Gopalakrishnan said.
Jessica Gopalakrishnan wasn't the only visitor surprised by what she saw in Downtown. Mike Soucy and Matt Kuhn remember what Dreamforce was like pre-pandemic. Matt Kuhn specifically remembers the streets of Downtown being full of life.
"A lot of the shops are closed down, there's a lot of empty stalls along the street," Kuhn said.
While attendees hit the streets mingling and gearing up for their first day, nearby businesses are preparing for an influx of crowds. Gina Lee the bar manager at La Mar said Dreamforce brings in so many new customers, the event pulled them out of their slow season at the end of summer.
"Everything picks up twice as much. For lunch we can go from 100 covers to 250 covers," Lee said.
The next two days will be filled with keynote speakers and big tech reveals before the city clears out for the final day on Thursday.