Zenefits CEO David Sacks speaks at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, California.
Paul Chin | Chronicle of San Francisco | Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images
Venture investor and podcaster David Sacks will join the Trump administration as the “AI and Crypto Tsar of the White House” under President-elect Donald Trump. announced on Truth Social on Thursday
Sacks will lead the administration’s policy on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, Trump wrote. Some of this work involves creating a legal framework for cryptography, as well as leading a Presidential Council of Science and Technology Advisors.
“David will focus on making America a clear global leader in both areas,” Trump wrote. “It will protect freedom online, and keep us away from Big Tech bias and censorship.”
The appointment signals that the second Trump administration is rewarding Silicon Valley figures who supported his campaign. It also indicates that the administration will promote policies that are generally supported by cryptocurrency entrepreneurs.
Sacks became a prominent Trump supporter earlier this year, hosting a fundraiser for the then-Republican candidate at his San Francisco mansion. Tickets sold for $50,000, and included perks like a photo with Trump at the $300,000 level.
It was a marked change in tone for Sacks, who had been heavily critical of Trump since the January 6, 2021, incident at the Capitol. Sacks said in an episode of his All-In podcast shortly thereafter that Trump was “clearly” responsible for the events. of January 6, and that he “disqualified himself from being a candidate at the national level”.
In July, Sacks spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Sacks is a venture capitalist and entrepreneur who sold Yammer to Microsoft in 2012 for $1.2 billion. He is also affiliated with the “PayPal mafia,” an unofficial club of prominent tech figures and investors, including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who worked at PayPal. in the 1990s.
In recent years, Sacks is known for hosting the All-In podcast alongside investors Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis and David Friedberg. In his post, Trump called it “Tech’s top podcast, where he and his friends discuss economic, political and social issues.”
