On July 4th, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, as soon as a outstanding Democratic donor, declared himself “politically homeless.”
Whereas Altman cited his private disillusionment with political events, his feedback are emblematic of a broader realignment beneath method in Silicon Valley—a area as soon as synonymous with progressive politics, now witnessing a high-profile migration of its elite towards the political proper.
“I’m not massive on identities, however I’m extraordinarily proud to be American,” Altman wrote in a publish on X. “That is true each day, however particularly at present—I firmly imagine that is the best nation ever on Earth. The American miracle stands alone in world historical past.”
It was a pointed critique of the Democratic Occasion’s perceived drift away from innovation and entrepreneurship, as Altman explicitly referred to as for a renewed concentrate on what he referred to as “techno-capitalism”—a philosophy that champions each wealth creation and broad-based prosperity via innovation.
Silicon Valley’s political shift
Altman’s public break with the Democrats will not be an remoted occasion. It comes at a time when Silicon Valley’s political allegiances are in flux. For many years, the tech business was seen as a dependable ally of the Democratic Occasion, particularly throughout the Obama years, when the administration fostered shut ties with tech leaders similar to Google’s Eric Schmidt. Nevertheless, because the Biden administration elevated regulatory scrutiny—notably round synthetic intelligence, cryptocurrency, and antitrust—many tech executives started to really feel alienated.
Altman’s critique echoes a rising sentiment amongst tech leaders that the Democratic Occasion has turn into hostile to the very forces—innovation, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation—that after outlined Silicon Valley’s ethos.
The jury is out on the true nature of this break up, as Silicon Valley has lengthy had a libertarian bent whereas Democrats of left-wing and center-lift varieties have lengthy favored robust regulation, however the Trump years have created new coalitions. Outstanding tech and enterprise capital executives have more and more aligned with the Republican Occasion whereas expressing the sentiment that they don’t really feel at residence anymore with the Democrats.
The political divide in Silicon Valley is now stark. Whereas many tech staff stay liberal or progressive, the higher echelons—CEOs, enterprise capitalists, and founders—are more and more embracing conservative or libertarian ideologies.
Concern of ‘anti-billionaire’ sentiment
The shift is pushed by a number of components:
- Many leaders imagine that Democratic insurance policies stifle innovation via overregulation and punitive taxation.
- Executives cite a rising “anti-billionaire” and anti-tech sentiment inside progressive circles, which they see as antithetical to Silicon Valley’s tradition of risk-taking and wealth creation.
- The Trump administration’s deregulatory stance, particularly on AI and crypto, has confirmed enticing to tech elites looking for fewer constraints on their companies.
Maybe essentially the most hanging instance of Silicon Valley’s rightward drift is Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz. Previously a Democrat, Andreessen has turn into a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, citing the Biden administration’s regulatory strategy as a risk to the startup ecosystem. In July 2024, Andreessen and his companions launched the “Little Tech Agenda,” a coverage doc advocating for deregulation, decrease taxes, and a hands-off strategy to innovation. This successfully supplied a “permission construction” for tech leaders to again Trump and the GOP.
Andreessen’s transformation is emblematic of a broader pattern: the tech elite’s rising willingness to align with conservative populism if it means defending their pursuits and imaginative and prescient for the long run. Andreessen’s “Techno-Optimist Manifesto” from 2023 argued that technological innovation is the last word answer to social issues and that regulatory constraints are obstacles to be overcome, not safeguards to be revered.
Altman’s declaration of political homelessness and Andreessen’s rightward shift each sign a profound change within the political panorama of Silicon Valley — after which there’s Elon Musk’s deep involvement with Republican politics. A serious backer of Donald Trump’s reelection in 2024, then a outstanding member of the primary few months of Trump’s second time period, and eventually an exile from the White Home, Musk lately launched the “America Occasion,” a brand new political occasion that he mentioned will present voters with an alternative choice to the Democratic and Republican events.
For this story, Fortune used generative AI to assist with an preliminary draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the knowledge earlier than publishing.
