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ToggleWell-known investors publicly criticized Biden and raised funds to support Trump. The political trend in Silicon Valley suddenly changed.
Silicon Valley's venture capital community is experiencing a political earthquake. Well-known technology investors such as Marc Andreessen and Chamath Palihapitiya are increasingly openly criticizing President Biden and expressing support for Trump. The New York Times documented this series of political shifts:
Changing positions: From no Trump support to fundraising support
In 2021, the famous venture capitalist and host David Sacks once said that former President Trump has lost his qualifications to become a future political candidate because of the riots in the Capitol on January 6.
However, at a tech conference last week, Sacks changed his position, claiming that his differences were greater with Biden than with Trump. Mr. Sacks also revealed that he and his podcast co-host were planning a fundraiser for Trump and had extended an invitation to Biden, but the Trump camp was more open to it.
Political winds shift in Silicon Valley
The shift in political winds is particularly notable in Silicon Valley, which has long had close ties to the Democratic Party. Public support for Trump was once taboo in Silicon Valley, long considered a liberal bastion.
But dissatisfaction with Biden and the Democratic Party is pushing some of the most prominent tech venture capitalists to the right. For example, Social Capital's Chamath Palihapitiya, who has supported Democrats in the past, now works with Sacks on Trump fundraisers.
Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Shaun Maguire of Sequoia Capital criticized Biden but did not explicitly support Trump. Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures focuses on electing Republicans to Congress. These activities can only represent some people, but their impact cannot be ignored.
The Democratic Party still has many big VCs
In the past, Republican donors in Silicon Valley were limited to a handful of senior technology managers, such as Sun Microsystems founder Scott McNealy, former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, Oracle Executive Director Larry Ellison and Sequoia Capital Former managing partner Doug Leone. Tech companies such as Airbnb, Google, Uber and Apple have all been keen to hire members of the former Obama administration.
Many Silicon Valley investors, including Reid Hoffman and Vinod Khosla, remain loyal to the Democratic Party, while Peter Thiel (co-founder of PayPal), who once supported Trump, said he was disillusioned with politics and planned to withdraw from the 2024 campaign.
However, those tech investors who have moved to the right, with large social media followings and deep pockets, are becoming more political.
New industrial policies trigger chemical changes
More industry issues are becoming political, according to PitchBook, which tracks new startups, which grew eightfold between 2012 and 2022 to $344 billion. Bobby Franklin of the National Venture Capital Association said the current issues are more complex than ever.
Tech backlash and political reassessment
In 2016, Peter Thiel shocked the industry with his high-profile support of Trump, including a $1.25 million donation and a speech at the Republican National Convention. The ensuing "tech backlash" has led some industry leaders to reassess their political views, a trend that has continued amid the social and political unrest during the pandemic.
Tax hike proposals and encryption policies spark dissatisfaction
Some investors said they were disappointed with the anti-takeover tactics of Lina Khan, Biden’s nominee for FTC chair, and dissatisfied with Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler’s hostile attitude toward cryptocurrency companies.
New startups have been in the doldrums since 2022 due to rising interest rates and a bleak IPO market. Sacks believes that Biden's proposed tax increases, including a 25% billionaire tax on certain holdings, may stifle the development of new startups. "This is a good reason for Silicon Valley to get serious about who they vote for," he said at a technology conference last week.
“There are real problems with the Biden administration,” Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, said in a recent podcast. He believes that under Trump, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will be “very "Different people" lead, but Trump's presidency is not necessarily a "clean victory."
Representatives from the National Venture Capital Association said Silicon Valley's dissatisfaction with the current situation reflects widespread national frustration with both parties.
Politicians who support a technology-driven future
The "e/acc" (optimistic view of a technology-driven future) mentioned by a16z's Andreessen Horowitz last year may best express the voice of this technology investor. In November, a group of prominent investors and startup founders sent a letter to Biden criticizing his executive order on artificial intelligence, accusing him of stifling innovation.
( What is "d/acc" proposed by Vitalik? How does it differ from "e/acc" (effective accelerationism)? )
ETH ETF, FIT 21 bill quick clearance
Perhaps because of the pressure felt by the Biden administration, unlike the Bitcoin spot ETF, which has been brewing for a long time, the Ethereum spot ETF was approved by the SEC without public improvements. In addition, the FIT 21 bill, which is strongly supported by the U.S. cryptocurrency industry, limits the scope of SEC regulation and clearly defines decentralized networks. It also quickly passed the House of Representatives vote and went to the Senate for trial.
The future development of this industrial friendship extended by the election will greatly change the industrial development of the United States and the world.
