Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz and his wife plan to make a “significant” donation to the presidential campaign of US Vice President Kamala Harris, just three months after supporting Harris’ rival, former President Donald Trump.
In a memo to staff at his firm Andreessen Horowitz, viewed by Bloomberg News, Horowitz emphasized the personal nature of the donation, saying he and his wife, Felicia, have known Harris for years and she has been “a great friend to both of us.”
Horowitz and partner Marc Andreessen in July said they were backing Trump, shocking many in Silicon Valley, which has traditionally leaned Democratic. The two said they preferred Trump’s policies on issues such as cryptocurrency, something the Biden Administration has been less open to.
At the time, President Joe Biden was still the Democratic candidate. Since Biden dropped out and Harris has become the party’s nominee, the race with Trump has tightened.
The news is a blow to Trump, whose campaign has far less cash on hand than Harris’ as the candidates enter the final, and most expensive, weeks of the campaign.
Horowitz wrote in the note that the firm at large won’t be updating its position on the election given that Harris’ tech policies remain unknown. A representative for Horowitz declined to comment late Friday. Axios was first to report Horowitz’s planned donation.
The donation is intended to support Harris and her campaign, but stops short of explicitly endorsing her policies, according to Horowitz’s memo to employees. Horowitz noted that the Biden administration had been particularly destructive on tech policy, including crypto and AI, two of the firm’s priorities.
“So, while I am very hopeful that the Harris administration will be much better, they have not yet stated their intentions,” he said in the memo.
