Silicon Valley Heavyweights Shift Focus: Biden Falls out of Favor as Tech Investors Lean towards the Right
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Prominent Investor Criticizes Biden Publicly, Raises Funds to Support Trump, Silicon Valley Political Winds Change Suddenly
Changing Stance: From Not Supporting Trump to Raising Funds in Support
The Political Winds Shift in Silicon Valley
Democratic Party Still Has Many Venture Capital Titans
Startup Industry Policies Trigger a Chemical Change
Tech Backlash and Political Reassessment
Displeasure with Tax Proposals and Cryptocurrency Policies
Supporting Politicians Driving the Future of Technology
ETH ETF, FIT 21 Act Passes Quickly
Silicon Valley’s venture capital community is experiencing a political earthquake. Prominent technology investors such as Marc Andreessen and Chamath Palihapitiya are increasingly publicly criticizing President Biden and expressing support for Trump.
The New York Times reported on this series of political shifts:
In 2021, well-known venture capitalist and host David Sacks stated that former President Trump had lost the qualifications to become a future political candidate due to the January 6th Capitol riots.
However, at a technology conference last week, Sacks changed his stance, claiming that his differences with Biden are greater than with Trump. Mr. Sacks also revealed that he and his podcast co-host are preparing to hold a fundraising event for Trump and have already extended an invitation to Biden, but the Trump campaign is more open to it.
The shift in Silicon Valley’s political winds is particularly noteworthy because Silicon Valley has long had close ties to the Democratic Party. Publicly supporting Trump was once taboo in Silicon Valley, seen as a liberal stronghold.
However, dissatisfaction with Biden and the Democratic Party is pushing some of the most famous tech venture capitalists towards the right. For example, Chamath Palihapitiya of Social Capital, who previously supported the Democratic Party, is now involved in organizing fundraising events for Trump alongside Sacks.
Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Shaun Maguire of Sequoia Capital have criticized Biden but have not explicitly expressed support for Trump. Keith Rabois of Khosla Ventures focuses on electing Republicans to Congress. These activities represent only a portion of the individuals, but their influence cannot be ignored.
In the past, Republican donors in Silicon Valley were limited to a few high-ranking tech executives, such as Scott McNealy, founder of Sun Microsystems; Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay; Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP; Larry Ellison, executive chairman of Oracle; and Doug Leone, former managing partner of Sequoia Capital. Tech companies like Airbnb, Google, Uber, and Apple have also been enthusiastic about hiring members of the Obama administration.
Many Silicon Valley investors, including Reid Hoffman and Vinod Khosla, remain loyal to the Democratic Party, while Peter Thiel, a former supporter of Trump and co-founder of PayPal, has expressed disappointment in politics and plans to withdraw from the 2024 election campaign.
However, these right-leaning tech investors have a large following on social media and significant financial resources, making them increasingly politicized.
According to PitchBook, which tracks startups, the startup industry has grown eightfold from 2012 to 2022, reaching $344 billion, and more industry issues have become politicized. Bobby Franklin of the National Venture Capital Association stated that current issues are more complex than ever before.
Peter Thiel’s high-profile support for Trump in 2016, including a $1.25 million donation and a speech at the Republican National Convention, shocked the entire industry. The subsequent “tech backlash” led some industry leaders to reassess their political views, a trend that has continued to ferment during the social and political turmoil of the pandemic.
Some investors express disappointment with Lina Khan, the Federal Trade Commission chair nominee under Biden, and dissatisfaction with Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, for his hostile attitude towards cryptocurrency companies.
Since 2022, startups have been in a slump due to rising interest rates and a sluggish IPO market. Sacks believes that Biden’s tax proposals, including a 25% wealth tax on certain holdings, may stifle the development of startups. He stated at the technology conference last week, “This is a good reason for Silicon Valley to seriously consider voting.”
Marc Andreessen, one of the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, pointed out in a recent podcast, “There are real problems with the Biden administration.” He believes that under Trump’s administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would be led by “very different people,” but Trump’s presidency was not necessarily a “clean victory.”
Representatives of the National Venture Capital Association stated that Silicon Valley’s dissatisfaction with the current situation reflects the general disappointment with both parties nationwide.
Andreessen Horowitz’s “e/acc” (optimistic view of a technology-driven future) mentioned last year may best reflect the sentiments of these technology investors. In November of last year, a group of prominent investors and startup founders jointly wrote to Biden, criticizing his executive orders regarding artificial intelligence and accusing him of stifling innovation.
(What is Vitalik’s proposed “d/acc”? How is it different from “e/acc” (effective accelerationism)?)
Perhaps due to the pressure felt by the Biden administration, unlike the long-awaited Bitcoin spot ETF, the Ether spot ETF was approved by the SEC without any public improvement suggestions. In addition, the FIT 21 Act, strongly supported by the U.S. cryptocurrency industry, which limits the SEC’s regulatory scope and clearly defines decentralized networks, quickly passed the House of Representatives and is now heading to the Senate for review.
This industry-friendly extension stemming from the election will greatly change the industrial development of the United States and the world.
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