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The tales that matter on cash and politics within the race for the White Home
Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz mentioned he’ll make a “vital donation” in assist of Kamala Harris’s presidential election marketing campaign, simply weeks after he and Marc Andreessen shocked Silicon Valley by backing her Republican rival Donald Trump.
Horowitz advised workers at his enterprise capital agency on Friday that he and his spouse Felicia could be backing the Democratic candidate and her working mate Tim Walz, having been private buddies with the vice-president for a decade.
“On account of our friendship, Felicia and I can be making a big donation to entities who assist the Harris-Walz marketing campaign,” he wrote in a observe seen by the Monetary Occasions.
The 2024 election, which is coming into its closing month, has divided Silicon Valley’s elite. Horowitz and Andreessen — two of probably the most influential figures within the Valley and each long-term Democrats — introduced in mid-July that their agency could be supporting Trump’s marketing campaign. Together with Elon Musk and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, they grew to become the highest-profile Trump backers in tech.
Horowitz mentioned in a video explaining their resolution on the time that the Democratic administration was “nuking the business” and making life more and more difficult for start-ups and their traders.
Only a week after the pair’s assist for Trump emerged, nevertheless, President Joe Biden introduced he would withdraw from the race. Democratic assist shortly coalesced behind Harris as his substitute.
“Issues modified, Biden dropped out [and] Ben and Felicia discovered themselves ready the place their good friend was working,” mentioned an individual acquainted with Horowitz’s pondering.
Horowitz’s assist for Harris may put him at odds with the agency he co-leads, which continues to again Trump on various points.
Because the July endorsement of Trump, Andreessen Horowitz has donated to varied funds affiliated with the previous president, engaged on areas the place it has vital pursuits, equivalent to cryptocurrencies.
Ben and Felicia Horowitz are hopeful they’ll encourage Harris in direction of their place on varied tech points however, in response to the particular person acquainted with Horowitz’s pondering, their donation doesn’t change Andreessen Horowitz’s assist for Trump on particular points equivalent to crypto and synthetic intelligence regulation.
The agency’s leaders are working with politicians on either side of the aisle to advance their agenda, and don’t need “all their eggs within the Trump basket”, the particular person added.
In his observe to workers on Friday, the contents of which had been first reported by Axios, Horowitz wrote: “Though I’ve had a number of conversations with vice-president Harris and her crew on their probably tech insurance policies and am inspired by my perception in her, they haven’t but acknowledged what their tech coverage can be, so the agency is not going to be updating its place in that regard.”
“As we acknowledged earlier, the Biden administration has been exceptionally damaging on tech coverage throughout the business, however particularly because it pertains to crypto/blockchain and AI,” he added.
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