Silicon Valley investor David Sacks will serve as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s new artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto czar, advising the White House on the two critical emergent technologies. Sacks was an early backer of Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) during the 2024 Republican presidential primary but later jumped ship as the campaign struggled, eventually backing Trump’s bid to retake the White House.
A close ally of technology and space exploration mogul Elon Musk, Sacks, too, hails from South Africa. He was born in Cape Town before his parents emigrated to Tennessee. In 1999, Sacks—then a business consultant with McKinsey & Company—joined the team behind PayPal. He eventually went on to be one of the members of the so-called “PayPal Mafia,” a group of wealthy technology investors who made most of their money from the success of the online payments processor.
President-elect Trump has tasked Sacks with “guide[ing] policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency… [with a] focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas.” He is is also tasked to “safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship.”
In 2017, Sacks and investor Bill Lee founded Craft Ventures—a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that has made numerous investments in the technology industry. Sacks would later draw controversy in the media following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). In 2022, the commercial bank suffered catastrophic losses amid an economic downturn and rising interest rates. The bank had inexplicably made heavy investments in long-term Treasury bonds—locking up most of its liquidity and exposing it to a bank run by depositors.
Critics of Sacks—and other venture capitalists during the SVB crisis—allege that they stoked hysteria in several prominent newsletters and on social media regarding the banks’ lack of liquidity. This is said to have worsened the bank run and, consequently, caused the bank’s collapse.
However, Sacks and others in Silicon Valley contend that rising Federal Reserve interest rates are to blame, arguing that the central bank misled financial institutions about the long-term trajectory of rates.
Sacks is also known for his staunch opposition to the U.S. military and financial aid for Ukraine, and he often posts about the topic on social media.
