- Vercel is losing users after its CEO, Guillermo Rauch, posted a selfie with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a private Ai technology meeting in New York.
- Critics, including crypto founder Loopify, are withdrawing services due to perceived support for Netanyahu amid accusations of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
- Businesses and developers announced moves away from Vercel to rival cloud platforms such as Replit, Netlify, Hetzner, and Cloudflare.
- At least one Vercel software engineer resigned over the incident and urged donations to Gaza.
- The backlash follows wider criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which international organizations have described as genocidal.
Vercel, a company focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) cloud software, is seeing a notable drop in its user base. This follows CEO Guillermo Rauch sharing a photo with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a private AI technology meeting held in New York.
At the event, Netanyahu and several U.S. tech investors discussed ways AI could help boost Israel’s economy. Rauch posted the selfie and commented that they spoke about AI, education, and support for developers. The move quickly attracted criticism on social media.
Crypto founder Loopify, who has raised over $2 million to support Gaza, was among the most active critics. “Purposefully going out of his way to harm his company like this is so dumb,” Loopify stated, announcing his businesses would stop using Vercel services. Many other users, including online businesses, declared plans to switch to rival providers like Replit, Netlify, Hetzner, and Cloudflare.
At least one Vercel software engineer resigned, with the engineer urging others to donate to Gaza. Social media posts highlighted the International Criminal Court’s interest in Netanyahu for alleged war crimes. Some users also voiced concerns that using Vercel‘s tools could be seen as supporting controversial actions by the Israeli government.
While the criticism was widespread, Coinbase protocol specialist Viktor Bunin defended Rauch. “Rauch did the right thing because his post goes against ‘the current thing,'” Bunin wrote, disputing claims that Israel’s actions were genocidal.
Netanyahu’s meeting occurred as the conflict in Gaza continues. The Israeli government claims its efforts target Hamas after the October 7, 2023, attacks that killed about 1,200 people. Gaza’s health ministry cites about 66,000 deaths since the Israeli offensive began.
The United Nations and other groups have described Israel’s actions as genocidal, citing the humanitarian crisis. Reports have also emerged about potential post-war plans for Gaza, including proposals for AI-driven development projects and digital token systems intended to reshape the region’s economy.
Protos has contacted Vercel for further comment.
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