VC power player Ben Horowitz says he'll donate to Kamala Harris. Read the memo.
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Wired; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images; BI
- Ben Horowitz, A16z cofounder, said in July that he plans to support former President Donald Trump's campaign.
- An email to A16z employees now reveals that he plans to donate to Vice President Kamala Harris.
- The investor wrote that he and his wife will be making a "significant donation" to support Harris.
Ben Horowitz, the erudite cofounder of venture capital firm A16z, sent an email to staff that he is planning to donate to support the Harris-Walz campaign, Business Insider has confirmed.
The email, which was first reported on by Axios, came as a surprise given Horowitz had already donated to support former President Donald Trump less than three months ago.
In the Friday email, Horowitz wrote that he and his wife, Felicia, have known Vice President Kamala Harris for over 10 years and that "she has been a great friend to both of us during that time."
"As a result of our friendship, Felicia and I will be making a significant donation to entities who support the Harris Walz campaign," the email said.
Horowitz stopped short of saying he would endorse or vote for the Democratic presidential nominee.
The couple wants to establish a working relationship with both candidates in the final days of one of the closest presidential races of the century, according to a person familiar with Ben and Felicia Horowitz's thinking.
On July 16, just days before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Horowitz and his close business partner Marc Andreessen said in their podcast that Trump would better support emerging technology companies and startups.
"The future of our business, the future of technology, new technology, and the future of America is literally at stake," Horowitz said on the podcast. "So here we are. For little tech, we think Donald Trump is actually the right choice."
Although Horowitz wrote in the email to A16z employees that he'll be donating to entities supporting the Harris-Walz campaign, the venture capitalist noted that he has yet to hear what the campaign's tech policies will be.
"Although I have had several conversations with Vice President Harris and her team on their likely tech policies and am encouraged by my belief in her, they have not yet stated what their tech policy will be, so the firm will not be updating its position in that regard," he wrote in the email.
Read the email below:
a16zers, I wanted to give you an update on my political activity. As I mentioned before, Felicia and I have known Vice President Harris for over 10 years and she has been a great friend to both of us during that time. She's also been a friend to the firm in our early days, helping with several events at my house when we built the original Cultural Leadership Fund network. As a result of our friendship, Felicia and I will be making a significant donation to entities who support the Harris Walz campaign. From a firm perspective, we continue to only take positions consistent with our Little Tech Agenda and how the various candidates that support or don't support policies to build a strong startup technology industry. Although I have had several conversations with Vice President Harris and her team on their likely tech policies and am encouraged by my belief in her, they have not yet stated what their tech policy will be, so the firm will not be updating its position in that regard. As we stated earlier, the Biden Administration has been exceptionally destructive on tech policy across the industry, but especially as it relates to Crypto/Blockchain and AI. So, while I am very hopeful that the Harris Administration will be much better, they have not yet stated their intentions. Ben