On July 4th, CEO of Openai, Sam Altman, once a Prominent democratic donorexplained “politically homeless”.
While Altman quoted his personal disillusionment with political parties, his comments are a symbol of A broader realignment In Silicon Valley on the basis Top -class migration his elite towards political law.
“I am not big in terms of identities, but I’m very proud to be Americans,” wrote Altman In a contribution to X. “This is true every day, but especially today – I believe that this is the largest country of all time. The American miracle is alone in world history.”
It was a targeted criticism of the perceived drift of the democratic party of innovation and entrepreneurship when Altman explicitly asked for a new focus on what he describes as “techno-capitalism”, a philosophy, which uses both the creation of prosperity and the broad prosperity through innovation.
Political shift of Silicon Valley
Altman’s public break with the Democrats is not an isolated event. It comes to a time when the political loyalities of the Silicon Valley are in the river. The technology industry was regarded for decades as a reliable ally of the Democratic Party, especially in the Obama years when the government promoted close relationships with technology leaders Like Eric Schmidt from Google. However, when the bids will be regulatory control – especially about artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and antitrust law – increased, many tech leadership began to feel alienated.
The criticism of Altman reflects a growing feeling among the technical leaders that the democratic party has become hostile to the armed forces – innovation, entrepreneurship and creation of the assets that once defined the ethos of Silicon Valley.
The jury is on the true nature of this separation because Silicon Valley has long had a libertarian bent, while the Democrats have preferred a strong regulation for a long time, but the Trump years have created new coalitions. Prominent technical and risk capital managers have increasingly agreed with the Republican Party, while they have expressed the feeling that they no longer feel at home with the Democrats.
The political gap in Silicon Valley is now strong. While Many technology workers remain liberal or progressiveThe upper levels – CEOs, risk capital providers and founders – are increasingly encompassing conservative or libertarian ideologies.
Fear of “anti -millionaire” tasting
The shift is driven by several factors:
- Many leaders believe that democratic politics suppresses innovation through over -regulation and criminal taxation.
- Managers cite a growing “anti-billion shirt” and an anti-tech feeling in progressive circles, which they see as antithetically against the culture of risk and the creation of wealth in Silicon Valley.
- The deregulative posture of the Trump government, especially KI and Crypto, has proven to be attractive for technical elites who are looking for fewer restrictions on their business.
The most striking example of the right drift by Silicon Valley is Marc Andreessen, co -founder of Andreessen Horowitz. As a democrat, Andreessen is a loud supporter of Donald Trump and quoted the regulatory approach of bidges administration as a threat to the startup ecosystem. In July 2024 Andreessen and his partners published the “Little Tech Agenda”A political document that works for deregulation, lower taxes and a hand-off approach to innovation. This effectively provided a“ authorization structure ”for tech executives to support Trump and the GOP.
Andreessen’s transformation is a symbol of a broader trend: the growing willingness of the technology elite to adapt to conservative populism if this means protecting your interests and vision for the future. Andreessens “Techno-optimistic manifestoFrom 2023 it argues that technological innovation is the ultimate solution for social problems and that regulatory restrictions are obstacles that must be overcome and are not to be respectful.
Oldman’s explanation of political homelessness and Andreessen’s legal shift both signal a profound change in the political landscape of Silicon Valley – and then there is Elon Musk’s deep engagement in Republican politics. Musk is an important supporter of Donald Trump’s re -election in 2024, then a prominent member of the first months of Trump’s second term, and finally an exile from the White House. He recently started the “America Party”, a new political party that he said that they will offer voters an alternative to the democratic and republican parties.
For this story, Assets Used generative AI to help with a first draft. An editor checked the accuracy of the information before publication.
