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Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Wired; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images; BI
- Ben Horowitz, cofounder of A16z, announced in July his support for former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
- A recent email to A16z employees indicates he now intends to contribute to Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign.
- The investor stated that he and his wife will make a “substantial donation” in support of Harris.
Ben Horowitz, the knowledgeable cofounder of the venture capital firm A16z, has confirmed through an email sent to staff that he plans to contribute financially to the Harris-Walz campaign.
This announcement came as a surprise since just three months prior, Horowitz had made donations supporting former President Donald Trump. The news was initially reported by Axios.
In his email sent on Friday, Horowitz expressed that both he and his wife Felicia have maintained a friendship with Vice President Kamala Harris for over ten years. He noted that “she has been an excellent friend throughout this time.”
“Due to our longstanding friendship, Felicia and I will be making a significant contribution towards organizations backing the Harris-Walz campaign,” the email stated.
However, Horowitz did not explicitly endorse or commit to voting for the Democratic presidential nominee. According to sources familiar with their views, the couple aims to foster relationships with both candidates as they navigate one of the most competitive presidential races in recent history.
On July 16—just days before President Joe Biden exited from contention—Horowitz along with business partner Marc Andreessen discussed their belief during a podcast that Trump would better advocate for emerging technology firms and startups. “The future of our industry—and indeed America—is at stake,” said Horowitz during this discussion. “For smaller tech companies like ours, we believe Donald Trump is actually more favorable.”
While expressing intentions in his communication with A16z employees regarding donations supporting the Harris-Walz initiative, Horowitz mentioned he is still awaiting clarity on what specific tech policies her campaign will propose.
“Although I’ve engaged in multiple discussions with Vice President Harris and her team about potential tech policies—which I find encouraging—they have yet to publicly outline their stance on these issues,” he wrote in his message.
Dear Team,
I wanted you all updated regarding my political engagements. As previously mentioned, Felicia and I have known Vice President Harris for over ten years; she has been an invaluable friend during this period. She also supported our firm’s early initiatives by assisting at several events when we were establishing our Cultural Leadership Fund network.
Consequently, due to our friendship’s depth, Felicia and I are committed to making a substantial donation towards entities advocating for the Harris-Walz campaign.
From our firm’s perspective, we remain aligned only with positions consistent with our Little Tech Agenda concerning how various candidates approach policies vital for nurturing a robust startup technology sector. While I’ve had numerous conversations about potential tech policies with Vice President Harris’s team—which gives me hope—they haven’t yet articulated their official stance on these matters. As we’ve previously indicated: The Biden Administration has posed significant challenges regarding tech policy across various sectors but particularly concerning Crypto/Blockchain technologies as well as AI advancements. Therefore while I’m optimistic about improvements under a potential Harris Administration—I await clearer intentions from them.
Best,
Ben
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