Politics
Political donations and endorsements
6
Supported
44
Opposed
56
Mixed
1
Silent
All Stances (107)
Donated $20 million to Public First Action PAC opposing AI deregulation under the Trump administration. Lobbying spending more than tripled between 2024 and 2025. In March 2026, after being labeled a Pentagon "supply-chain risk" for refusing to allow Claude to be used for autonomous weapons or domestic mass surveillance, Anthropic sued the Trump administration. CEO Amodei called the designation illegal retaliation against protected speech.
Endorsed Kamala Harris and donated $214K+ to Democratic candidates before 2024 election, including to Biden, Clinton, and the DNC. Wrote a now-deleted Facebook post calling Trump "a serious and legitimate threat to the rule of law." In February 2026 a leaked internal memo showed Amodei told ~2,000 Anthropic staff the Trump administration was hostile to the company because it had not given "dictator-style praise" to Trump and refused to donate to him. He publicly apologized after the memo leaked.
At the 2025 Masters of Scale Summit, stated he tries not to wade into political topics, describing politics as "inherently divisive" and incompatible with Airbnb's unifying mission. Noted that millions of Trump and Harris supporters literally stayed in each other's homes through Airbnb during the 2024 election, making partisan stances a business liability.
Ek's personal investment firm Prima Materia invested €600M+ in Helsing, a German military AI company, in June 2025, sparking an artist boycott. Massive Attack, Deerhoof, and others pulled music from Spotify under the "No Music for Genocide" campaign, linking Ek's defense investments to Israeli military operations. Ek announced his departure as Spotify CEO in late 2025, making no public statement about the boycotts.
Positioned YC toward Trump's Washington after his San Francisco political network lost in November 2024. Organized a "Little Tech Competition Summit" on Trump's April 2, 2025 Liberation Day with FTC and DOJ antitrust enforcers. Launched "Garry's List," a 501(c)(4) dark-money group targeting all 58 California counties. Called himself "a San Francisco Democrat" while building a Trump-aligned lobbying infrastructure. Pushed back on Trump's H-1B fee as "kneecapping startups."
Joined Meta's board of directors in April 2025 — during Meta's simultaneous rollback of DEI programs and political realignment with the Trump administration — without public comment on those changes. Testified before the House in March 2025 on innovation policy advocating for deregulatory pro-growth stance. Featured in Cato Institute publications on innovation, signaling libertarian-leaning intellectual engagement.
Shopify removed itself from Canada's flagship tech lobbying coalition in 2022 and has avoided formal partisan endorsements. CEO Tobi Lütke admires Elon Musk and has adopted anti-DEI and AI-efficiency rhetoric, while stopping short of formal political endorsements or donations. Hundreds of Canadian tech leaders condemned Shopify's DEI rollbacks in an open letter signed by 400+ executives in early 2025.
Lütke has styled himself after Elon Musk's anti-woke tech culture: described DEI programs as "side quests," celebrated Shopify's AI-first pivot in DOGE-style efficiency terms, and drew sharp criticism from 400+ Canadian tech leaders for rolling back Shopify's Build Black and Build Native diversity programs in early 2025. He has not made formal partisan political donations or endorsements.
Attended Trump's January 20, 2025 inauguration as a VIP guest on the dais alongside Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg — a strategic move amid TikTok's U.S. ban threat. Had privately met Trump at Mar-a-Lago on December 16, 2024. The political courtship secured an executive order delaying the TikTok ban despite lack of a divestment deal.
DoorDash donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inaugural fund. The company also spent $60M+ on California's Prop 22 campaign in 2020 to maintain contractor classification for Dashers. CEO Tony Xu has not made explicit partisan endorsements, but the company's political spending has consistently aligned with deregulatory priorities that protect its gig economy business model.
Personally donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inaugural fund in January 2025, framing it as "the spirit of unity" and "a great American tradition." Later told media "I'm not a political person on either side." Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote Cook accusing the donation of being an attempt to influence the incoming administration amid Apple's active DOJ antitrust lawsuit.
Made $1M personal donation to Trump inaugural fund, joining Bezos and Zuckerberg.
Sam Altman personally donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund in December 2024, stating "President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI."
Jeff Bezos personally donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 inaugural fund and attended the inauguration.
Donated $1M to Trump inaugural fund. Dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Amazon paid $40M for Melania Trump documentary. Washington Post blocked anti-Trump endorsement before election.
Donated $1M to Trump inaugural fund. Pivoted Meta hard right. Removed fact-checkers. Dinner with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. UFC board seat with Dana White.
Named White House AI and Crypto Czar by Trump on December 5, 2024. Served as Special Government Employee guiding AI/crypto policy. Key outcomes: revoked Biden AI executive order, established Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, passed GENIUS Act (first federal stablecoin law), and released "Winning the AI Race" action plan. Stepped down March 2026 after 130-day SGE limit.
Named Trump White House AI policy advisor. Former a16z GP. Close to Elon Musk. Ex-Twitter and Meta. Connected to immigration controversy.
Met with Trump after 2024 election. Praised "badass" survival after assassination attempt.
Close Trump friend. Hosted fundraiser at Lanai estate. Called Trump "good for the country." Oracle benefits from government contracts.
Posted support for Trump on X after 2024 election. Faced backlash from developer community.
Guillermo Rauch pro-Trump posts drew developer backlash. Vercel CEO political pivot.
Peter Thiel major Trump ally since 2016. Spoke at 2016 RNC. Invested in Rumble. Portfolio includes Palantir (ICE contracts), Anduril (defense). JD Vance, Thiel protégé, became VP. Fund embodies tech-right movement.
Vinod Khosla vocal Trump critic. Called for regulation of tech. Supports climate initiatives. Rare anti-Trump voice in VC.
Vinod Khosla donated $413K to Harris Action Fund. Called Trump a "convicted felon, charged rapist" with "depraved values." Publicly clashed with Musk over Trump endorsement. Said "democracy is on the line."
Co-founders Andreessen and Horowitz each donated $2.5M to pro-Trump super PAC. Cited SEC enforcement against 30+ portfolio companies under Biden as key factor.
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz each donated $2.5M to Trump super PAC "Right For America" in October 2024. Total $24M+ in 2024 election donations. Andreessen advises Musk's DOGE. Neither previously donated to presidential campaigns.
Perplexity launched an election information hub in October 2024, drawing criticism from journalists for AI-generated political content lacking verification.
Endorsed Trump for the 2024 election in September 2024, citing lawfare as the trigger: "It was the lawfare that brought me off the sidelines. It's really disgusting behavior." Said Trump 2024 was better than 2016 because he's now surrounded by "incredibly competent people" like Elon Musk instead of neocons.
Hosted a JD Vance fundraiser for Trump's presidential campaign in September 2024. Has publicly supported Trump since 2020. Said Trump 2024 differs from 2016 because he's surrounded by better people. His husband Jacob Helberg donated $2M to Trump's 2024 campaign.
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz endorsed Trump in 2024.
Endorsed Trump in July 2024 with Ben Horowitz, citing crypto regulation and opposition to unrealized capital gains tax. Each donated $2.5M to pro-Trump super PAC.
Endorsed Trump with Andreessen in July 2024. Donated $2.5M to pro-Trump PAC. Cited crypto regulation as key factor despite no prior presidential campaign donations.
Endorsed Trump in 2024. Wrote Techno-Optimist Manifesto.
Major Trump donor and supporter. Spoke at 2016 RNC. Funded JD Vance's campaign.
Donated $7 million to a pro-Harris super PAC in July 2024 — his largest ever single political donation. Publicly called on Biden to withdraw from the race in July 2024. In March 2025, donated $2 million to support Ukraine and $2 million to a California redistricting campaign supporting Democrats ahead of 2026 midterms.
David Sacks co-hosted Trump San Francisco fundraiser in June 2024 raising $12M. All-In podcast amplified Trump positions. Now serves as White House AI and Crypto Czar under Trump. Fund partners include Peter Thiel.
Chamath Palihapitiya co-hosted Trump fundraiser with Sacks in June 2024. Previously supported Yang and was Democrat. All-In podcast co-host. Flip-flopped on Trump - initially critical, now supportive. Called "tech contrarian."
Hosted a Trump presidential campaign fundraiser at his home in June 2024, raising approximately $12 million. Also spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention and voted for Trump. Hosted fundraiser with fellow PayPal mafia members Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.
In 2024, Karp said he would "vote against Trump" while criticizing the direction of the Democratic Party, describing himself as a disappointed Democrat. He held Palantir's first 2024 board meeting in Tel Aviv to show solidarity with Israel and has championed Western democratic values and military AI development as a patriotic duty, while defying easy partisan categorization.
Mistral AI received public support from French President Emmanuel Macron and benefits from close ties with the French government, positioning as a national champion.
Josh Kushner (Jared Kushner's brother) has maintained distance from Trump despite family ties. Donated to Democrats. Wife Karlie Kloss is vocal Democrat. Firm focuses on tech investing separate from political controversy.
CEO Garry Tan heavily involved in SF politics. Moved YC headquarters back to SF, said founders "have to be in San Francisco." Donated $400K+ to moderate political causes.
CEO Garry Tan made controversial "die slow" post toward SF supervisors in January 2024. Advocates for tech-friendly politics. YC historically non-partisan but Tan pushes founder advocacy. Sam Altman (OpenAI) is YC alum.
Peter Thiel's firm. Major Trump and Republican donors.
Vocal Trump supporter. Co-hosts All-In podcast discussing politics.
Trump supporter. Funded Nimble America (pro-Trump memes). Fired from Facebook over political activities. MAGA defense tech.
All-In podcast host. Trump supporter. Called for deregulation. Close to David Sacks and Chamath. Early Uber investor.
Chamath Palihapitiya All-In podcast host. Anti-establishment rhetoric but supported Trump allies. SPAC criticisms.
Shou Zi Chew TikTok CEO navigating US ban threat. Congressional testimony. ByteDance CCP concerns.
Y Combinator historically apolitical. Paul Graham blog posts on politics controversial. Garry Tan SF politics.
Spark Capital moderate approach. Biz Stone (Twitter) partner. Not aligned with MAGA VCs.
Lowercase Capital Chris Sacca retired from active VC. Moderate politics. Early Twitter/Uber investor.
Greylock Reid Hoffman Democrat. But firm invests across spectrum. Not as political as a16z.
NEA traditional VC. Not politically vocal. Diverse portfolio.
Sapphire Ventures enterprise focus. Less political than consumer VCs.
Evan Spiegel Snap relatively apolitical. Los Angeles based. Less MAGA than peers.
Jack Dorsey libertarian. Web3 advocate. Bitcoin maximalist. Less MAGA but contrarian.
Stewart Butterfield Slack founder. Canadian. Less political than US tech leaders.
Dylan Field Figma CEO apolitical. Design focus. Adobe acquisition blocked.
Sergey Brin Google co-founder reclusive. Named in Epstein files. Limited public statements.
Bill Gates philanthropy focus. Epstein connections damaged reputation. Gates Foundation work.
Steven Sinofsky a16z board partner. Epstein files. Microsoft Windows legacy.
Larry Page Google co-founder extremely reclusive. Alphabet resignation 2019. Named in Epstein files.
Donated to both parties. Testified before Congress on AI regulation. Worldcoin project raises privacy concerns. Fired then rehired in board coup.
Founders Fund Peter Thiel major Trump donor. Supported J.D. Vance for Senate. MAGA aligned.
Ran for California governor. Vocal on political issues. Shifted views over time.
Declared Coinbase would not engage with social or political issues.
Brian Armstrong declared Coinbase "mission-focused." Anti-activism policy. Crypto libertarian.
Joined Trump business council 2017, then quit after backlash. CloudKitchens now operates globally. Politically opportunistic.
Travis Kalanick briefly joined Trump council then quit. CloudKitchens globally. Opportunistic.