Andreessen Horowitz co-founders explain why they're supporting Trump | TechCrunch

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses Marc Andreessen's shift in political allegiance from the Democratic Party to supporting former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Andreessen, the co-founder of the prominent venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), cites Trump's more favorable policies for the tech industry and startup ecosystem as the primary reason for his decision.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Andreessen's Political Shift

1. What are the key reasons Andreessen is supporting Trump over Biden?

• Andreessen believes Trump's policies are more favorable for the tech industry and startup ecosystem, compared to the Biden administration's policies.
• Specifically, Andreessen disagrees with the Biden administration's plans to overregulate artificial intelligence and the proposal to tax unrealized capital gains, which he believes would be detrimental to startups.
• In contrast, Andreessen says Trump has a "flat-out blanket endorsement of the entire [crypto] space," which is more aligned with Andreessen's views.

2. How does Andreessen view the importance of tech prowess for the U.S.?

• Andreessen and his co-founder Ben Horowitz believe that tech prowess, along with economic and military might, are the three pillars that have allowed the U.S. to be the most successful country in the world over the last century.
• They argue that American dominance in these three areas helped the U.S. to peacefully defeat the Soviet Union during the Cold War, as the Soviet Union couldn't keep up with the U.S. technologically.

[02] Implications for the Tech Industry

1. What are Andreessen's concerns about the Biden administration's policies for the tech industry?

• Andreessen believes the Biden administration is "stifling startups through overregulation and potentially needless taxation."
• Specifically, he disagrees with the White House's plan to "overregulate" artificial intelligence, which he believes will disadvantage the U.S. compared to the rest of the world.
• Andreessen also cites the Biden administration's proposal to tax unrealized capital gains as the "final straw" that led him to switch his support to Trump, as he believes this would make startups "completely implausible."

2. How does Andreessen view Trump's approach to tech and innovation?

• Andreessen says Trump has a "flat-out blanket endorsement of the entire [crypto] space," which is more aligned with Andreessen's views.
• Andreessen also notes that in a recent dinner with Trump, the former president expressed the importance of winning the race for AI dominance, stating that "if we don't win, China wins."