Longtime supporters of advancing Black tech talent have publicly announced they’re backing Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race.
The Information reports that Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz disclosed to their employees that the leading VC firm is set “to make large donations to political action committees supporting the election of Donald Trump.”
In addition, the outlet reports that prior to Andreessen and Horowitz’s announcement of donating to Trump’s PACs, the two hadn’t publicly shown support for him.
According to TechCrunch, Andreessen was previously a long-time Democrat. However, he departed from the Democratic Party and sided with Trump based on the former president’s tech policies. Moreover, Horowitz co-signed the reasoning during the duo’s podcast, “The Ben & Marc Show,” per TechCrunch.
“I wish we didn’t have to pick a side,” Horowitz said. “We literally [believe] the future of our business, the future of technology, and the future of America is at stake.”
According to the outlet, a final factor for why Andreessen didn’t endorse President Joe Biden for reelection — before he dropped out of the 2024 race on July 21, 2024 — was his FY2025 Budget Proposal, which included proposals to tax unrealized capital gains. This would mean startups possibly having to pay taxes on valuation increases. According to Forbes, the proposals were created by the Biden administration to ensure tax fairness.
“If you’re a venture firm, you’re getting strips of your portfolio pulled away from you every year. You’re out of business,” Andreessen said. “This makes startups completely implausible.”
Before their endorsement for Trump, Andreessen and Horowitz’s a16z had a history of working to increase the amount of Black talent in tech jobs. As previously reported by AFROTECH™, a16z launched the Cultural Leadership Fund (CLF), which is comprised exclusively of Black cultural leaders and organizations. The overall mission for the fund is to increase access to career opportunities for Black techies and increase representation within leadership, which would open the door to more Black generational wealth.
While a16z has backed initiatives such as CLF, it’s still in question whether Black technologists and cultural leaders will continue to collaborate with the VC firm following its news of donating to the Trump PACs. After the announcement, TechCrunch shared a report that included Black startup founders’ sentiments.
“They are supporting candidates that don’t want people like me to have a fair shot or level playing field,” an anonymous Nigerian American founder said, per TechCrunch. “How can one be optimistic with that in the back of their mind, as well as knowing you have a less than 2% shot of raising as it stands today?”
Blue Mahoe Holdings Founder David Mullings told the outlet about Horowitz, “His reputation will definitely take a hit among well-thinking Black people because it shows that he doesn’t actually understand our lived experiences.”
