Billionaire tech investor Ben Horowitz plans to donate “significantly” to Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' campaign, even though he and business partner Marc Andreessen are former President Donald Trump. This was a major reversal just a few months after supporting the .
Horowitz revealed his transformation in a letter to Andreessen Horowitz staff, stating that he and his wife, Felicia, have “known Vice President Harris for over 10 years,” and that he is a former California attorney. The director wrote, “We were friends at the office in 2019.'' Our early days. ”
“As a result of our friendship, Felicia and I intend to make a significant donation to organizations supporting the Harris Waltz campaign,” Horowitz wrote in the letter. Originally acquired by Axios.
Mr. Horowitz and Mr. Andreessen led a surprising shift toward Republicans in Silicon Valley, pledging to support Mr. Trump after Joe Biden's debacle in the presidential debate in June.
Mr. Andreessen retweeted Mr. Horowitz's post about the letter to X, but did not say whether his position on Ms. Harris had changed. It was a close race after Biden withdrew from the race, which could be a sign that polls show the two are trying to hedge their bets on who will win the White House.
Horowitz acknowledged that Harris had changed her mind, even though she had not laid out any concrete plans for the tech industry.
“I've had several conversations with Vice President Harris and her team about technology policy, and I'm encouraged by their belief in her, but they haven't yet said what technology policy will look like. , the company does not intend to update its position “in that regard,'' he wrote in the letter.
Some technology industry titans predict that Mr. Trump will likely support regulatory policies that are friendly to startups in the growing fields of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.
The trend has sparked heated debate in the traditionally Democratic-leaning technology industry.
“The Biden administration has been exceptionally disruptive when it comes to technology policy across industries, but particularly around policies related to cryptocurrencies/blockchain and AI,” Horowitz wrote. “So I have high hopes that the Harris administration will do better, but they haven't expressed that intention yet.”
Harris was vague about how she would address tech regulatory issues, such as the antitrust crackdown developed under the Biden-Harris administration, if she defeated Trump in November.
Recently 82-page economic policy summarythe Harris campaign said it would “encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting consumers and investors.” The word “antitrust law” was mentioned only once in the document.
The Horowitzes faced backlash over the summer for supporting Trump.
In August, San Francisco Standard publishes extensive profile He spoke about the couple and how they made the decision to support the Republican Party given their long-standing support for Democratic candidates and causes, including Harris.
After the article was published, Mr. Horowitz publicly criticized fellow tech investor and former Sequoia Capital chairman Michael Moritz, who is funding Standard. Horowitz accused Moritz of exploiting the press. The claim that he attacked his family was denied by the Standard newspaper.
“Sir Michael Moritz is currently having his fake disinformation 'newspaper' fabricate a hit story about me, a business rival,” Horowitz wrote to X at the time.
Fellow mogul Elon Musk, the world's richest man, appeared on stage with Trump on Saturday during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and declared himself a “dark MAGA.”
But Harris has extensive support from some of Silicon Valley's wealthiest donors, including Melinda French Gates, Reid Hoffman, Reed Hastings and Laurene Powell Jobs.
