David Sacks

Trump appointed Sacks as special adviser on AI and cryptocurrency under special government employee status, while he remained a partner at Craft Ventures, a fund with exposure to technology and cryptocurrency companies. This dual position raised questions about conflicts of interest and private investors' access to federal policymaking.

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Sacks left his operational role as AI and Crypto Czar after reaching the end of the period compatible with the 130-day service limit applicable to special government employees. He became co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and continued advising the White House.

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Following disclosures of cybersecurity incidents involving autonomous agents from OpenAI and Anthropic, Democrats and conservative figures accused the Trump administration of insufficiently regulating the sector because of its closeness to the technology industry. Reuters recalled Sacks's role in the "hands-off" regulatory approach.

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The White House granted Sacks a waiver allowing him to work on certain cryptocurrency policies despite residual private interests. Lawmakers, notably Elizabeth Warren, requested publication of his financial disclosures and clarification of the value of his investments, his recusals and the role of the Office of Government Ethics.

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Sacks was one of the main advocates of the executive order creating a strategic bitcoin reserve, initially funded with assets seized by the government. The project was criticised over its economic usefulness, potential market effects and the administration's close ties to the cryptocurrency industry.

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Sacks advocated an "ecosystem of partners" and fewer restrictions on advanced chips during Trump's Gulf tour, as the United States announced major AI agreements with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Lawmakers subsequently requested investigations into national security risks and indirect financial links between Gulf actors, the Trump ecosystem and officials involved.

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A second ethics memorandum governed Sacks's work on AI. It disclosed sales of shares and equity interests, notably in xAI, Meta and several AI companies held directly or through Craft Ventures, while leaving interests in other software or hardware companies in place.

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Sacks supported a very light-touch federal approach to AI regulation and a mechanism that would have strongly discouraged US states from regulating AI for ten years. The proposal prompted opposition from safety advocates, local officials and lawmakers from both parties.

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On his podcast and in political appearances, Sacks advocated a negotiated end to the war, criticised US aid to Kyiv and maintained that NATO enlargement or the prospect of enlargement had played a major role. At the July 2024 Republican convention, he stated that Joe Biden had "provoked" Russia into invading Ukraine through discussions of NATO expansion.

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Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya organised a fundraiser for Donald Trump in San Francisco, held at Sacks's home, which raised approximately $12 million. The event symbolised the growing alignment of part of Silicon Valley with Trump, particularly over cryptocurrency, regulation and taxation.

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Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Sacks strongly urged the Fed, Treasury and FDIC to guarantee all deposits, including those above the insured limit, warning of contagion and destruction of the start-up ecosystem.

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David Sacks co-moderated Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign launch on Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk. The session suffered nearly twenty minutes of interruptions, poor audio, restarts and loss of listeners before DeSantis could announce his candidacy.

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As a Stanford student and then recent graduate, David Sacks co-authored "The Diversity Myth" with Peter Thiel, a book hostile to certain diversity policies and containing passages minimising or challenging certain understandings of "date rape". These passages resurfaced during the 2016 presidential campaign.

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Sacks, who joined Zenefits as COO in late 2014, became CEO in February 2016 after Parker Conrad's departure amid investigations into insurance sales by insufficiently licensed employees and software enabling training requirements to be circumvented. He led the company's compliance remediation and restructuring.

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Direct responsibility