Google moves major tech conference out of San Francisco

The Cloud Next Conference will be held in Las Vegas in 2024
Oracle, Meta and Red Hat also pulled out of San Francisco events
San Francisco's economy could take a hit from the loss of tourism dollars

Updated: Sep 6, 2023 / 10:49 AM CDT

If you used Google to search and clicked on results the search engine provided between October 25, 2006, and September 30, 2013, then you might be eligible to receive a part of a recent settlement. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)

(NewsNation) — Google has become the latest tech company to move a major conference out of San Francisco.

Google announced the Cloud Next conference will be held in Las Vegas in 2024, rather than in San Francisco as it has been for the three years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

San Francisco has served as the center of tech industry for years, with Google, Meta, Twitter and other major tech companies calling the Bay Area home. The city’s Moscone Center has served as a host for major tech conferences, including Cloud Next.

But Google isn’t the only company making a move.

Oracle was the first to move out, announcing in 2019 that it would be moving the OpenWorld conference to Las Vegas. The company cited the high costs for attendees who would need to stay in the city as well as the homelessness crisis in the area.

Software company Red Hat canceled events set for 2024 and 2025 at the Moscone Center, instead announcing the Red Hat Summit for 2024 would be moving to Denver. In 2025, the company plans to host the conference in Orlando, Florida.

Meta also canceled an upcoming event, the Meta Business Summit. Unlike other companies, it did not relocate but simply canceled the conference entirely.

While the loss of major events could be a hit for the city’s economy, other companies are still planning on hosting conferences in the area, including an upcoming cybersecurity conference, the Game Developer’s Conference and Salesforce Inc.’s TrailblazerDX conference.

Google did not respond to a request for comment on why Cloud Next was leaving the city, only issuing a statement confirming the move.

“We can confirm Google Cloud Next ‘24 will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Centre in Las Vegas on April 9-11. We will be sharing additional information in the coming months,” the statement read.