In a bold move, the co-founders of Silicon Valley’s prominent venture capital firm, Andreessen-Horowitz, have thrown their weight behind Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, committing to significant financial contributions. Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen, known for their influential firm A16Z, made their intentions clear in an extensive 90-minute video, advocating that Trump’s victory is essential for the future of “American innovation.”
Their endorsement comes amidst a broader trend of tech entrepreneurs rallying behind Trump. Although their financial contributions won’t match those of billionaire Elon Musk, who pledged $45 million a month to support Trump, Horowitz and Andreessen are regarded as intellectual pillars of the rising rightwing faction in the American tech landscape.
In a blog post published in June, the A16Z co-founders criticized “bad government policies” as the primary threat to startups, which they view as the engine of the U.S. economy. They expressed concerns over excessive regulation, particularly concerning cryptocurrency, and proposals to tax unrealized capital gains. They also criticized the government’s failure to leverage its buying power to support startups over established players in critical sectors like defense and intelligence.
However, it was only recently that they publicly declared their support for Trump. “It’s clear now that, at least on little tech – we’re not experts on all things that the government does, but on startups and technology we’re certainly among the best experts in the world – we think Donald Trump is a better choice than Joe Biden,” Horowitz said. “I’m going to have a lot of friends who are pissed off at me for saying anything nice about President Trump… I wish it wasn’t this way and we didn’t have to pick a side.”
Andreessen highlighted Trump’s favorable stance on cryptocurrencies as a critical factor in their endorsement. “It’s a flat-out endorsement of the entire space, a complete across-the-board uniform embrace of the entire thing. It’s just an absolute 180 from what we’ve been experiencing… this has been a brutal assault on a nascent industry that I’ve never experienced before,” Andreessen stated.
The groundwork for this announcement has been laid for some time. In December, Horowitz wrote, “We are non-partisan, one-issue voters: if a candidate supports an optimistic technology-enabled future, we are for them. If they want to choke off important technologies, we are against them.”
To date, Andreessen and Horowitz have donated over $24 million in this election cycle, with the majority funneled into a non-partisan campaign, Fairshake. This initiative aims to support or oppose candidates based on their stance on cryptocurrency. Fairshake has become the second-best-funded Super PAC in the presidential race, trailing only the Trump-backing Make America Great Again Super PAC.
Andreessen-Horowitz, founded in 2009, has a storied history of backing high-profile tech companies such as Facebook, Instagram, and Airbnb. Their influence in the tech sector is substantial, and their endorsement of Trump underscores a significant shift in political allegiances within Silicon Valley.
According to data from Follow The Crypto, cryptocurrency-focused PACs have raised over $187 million for the 2024 US election, with $38 million already spent. These funds have predominantly supported Republican candidates and opposed Democrats, although some spending has targeted primary campaigns within the same party.
The crypto campaign has already had notable impacts, including a $10 million expenditure to oppose left-wing Congresswoman Katie Porter’s bid to become the Democratic candidate for the US Senate in California. As the election season progresses, the influence of Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists on the political landscape, particularly regarding cryptocurrency regulation, will be a critical area to watch.
