Tech founders and Silicon Valley VCs who supported — and threw their money behind — Donald Trump are being handsomely rewarded by the President-elect.
Shortly after winning the 2024 election, Trump appointed one of his biggest supporters, Elon Musk, to head up a new agency called the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Now, Trump is rewarding another wealthy tech founder for their loyalty: investor and podcaster David Sacks.
“I am pleased to announce that David O. Sacks will be the ‘White House A.I. & Crypto Czar,'” Trump announced in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. “In this important role, David will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness.”
According to Trump, Sacks’ role will be to “safeguard Free Speech online” and “work on a legal framework” for the cryptocurrency industry. Trump also shared that Sacks would lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology.
Sacks will be involved in crucial policy aspects of both a burgeoning technology in AI and a crypto industry ripe with fraud but expecting favorable treatment after throwing its support behind Trump.
“Congrats to czar @DavidSacks!” OpenAI’s Sam Altman posted on X shortly after the announcement from Trump.
Who is David Sacks?
Regular users of Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, may have seen Sacks pop-up on the platform from time to time. Sacks’ opinions obsessing over Russia’s war with Ukraine have previously gone viral. He has often been critiqued for his seemingly pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine positions as well as fearmongering over a potential World War III.
However, Sacks and Musk actually have history with each other — and a similar background. Like Musk, Sacks emigrated to the U.S. from South Africa. And in 1999, Sacks worked with Peter Thiel at PayPal, joining Musk as a member in the “PayPal Mafia,” a group of early PayPal employees and founders who went on to find greater success founding their own tech startups.
Credit: Christian Grattan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
In 2008, Sacks co-founded Yammer, a social media platform for enterprises. Microsoft acquired Yammer in 2012 for $1.2 billion. Microsoft would go on to integrate Yammer within its Microsoft 365 products.
Since then, Sacks has invested in a number of tech startups and companies. He founded a VC firm called Craft Ventures in 2017. In 2020, Sacks started the All-In podcast alongside Jason Calacanis, Chamath Palihapitiya, and David Friedberg. The podcast, where the four entrepreneurs discuss business and current events, has gained popularity in tech circles. Over time, the show has shown increasing support for right-wing politics, including hosting Trump for an interview in June and featuring Sacks broadcasting live from the Republican National Convention during the summer.
Sacks, specifically, has been increasingly making a name for himself in right-wing circles, opposing prominent progressive politicians and public servants over recent years.
And while Sacks previously said that Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol disqualified the former president from serving again, the VC quickly changed his tune and hosted a high-ticket fundraiser for Trump’s campaign earlier this year.
For Sacks, it appears like the pro-Trump move has paid off — barring any future falling outs with the 47th President.
