Tom Siebel, a billionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur and the chief executive officer of C3.ai Inc., is one of the largest single donors to the trucker protests that have snarled Canada’s capital and throttled commerce at the nation’s border with the U.S.
The executive—who also founded Siebel Systems Inc., an early maker of sales software that was sold to Oracle Corp. in 2006—extended $90,000 to the convoy through a crowdfunding platform, according to a leaked database of donations. A C3.ai spokeswoman also confirmed the information.
“I have a long record of providing substantial support to efforts to improve education, advance research, improve access to education, address homelessness, alleviate food scarcity, assure climate security, fund stem cell research, reduce substance abuse, assist the underprivileged and protect human rights,” Siebel said in the statement, which was sent by an outside representative of C3.ai. “These are personal initiatives and have nothing to do with the companies or organizations with which I am associated.”
Donations of more than $8 million were channeled toward the drivers, who have been fighting vaccine mandates, according to leaked data from the GiveSendGo platform, which helps groups raise funds online. The information, including Siebel’s donation, was previously reported by major Canadian news outlets such as broadcaster CTV News and newspaper chain Postmedia News.
Siebel, 69, has a net worth of $3.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He founded C3.ai, an artificial-intelligence software provider, in 2009. The Redwood City, California-based company had its initial public offering in 2020 and is currently valued at $2.36 billion.
Never miss a story: Follow your favorite topics and authors to get a personalized email with the journalism that matters most to you.