Erin Griffith

Thanks for having me.

Thanks for having me.

Absolutely. And it's true that Silicon Valley has historically been very liberal. And there were plenty of very well-known investors and founders who backed President Biden's campaign and then Vice President Harris. But the thing that was different this time around was that some of the most prominent and influential people in the tech industry came out in support of Donald Trump.

Absolutely. And it's true that Silicon Valley has historically been very liberal. And there were plenty of very well-known investors and founders who backed President Biden's campaign and then Vice President Harris. But the thing that was different this time around was that some of the most prominent and influential people in the tech industry came out in support of Donald Trump.

And this includes big name venture capitalists like David Sachs. This includes Elon Musk. And this includes a lot of other people that are very famous in the tech industry, but maybe not household names across the country. And that has a little bit of a trickle down effect where in the past it may have been taboo or absolutely unpopular.

And this includes big name venture capitalists like David Sachs. This includes Elon Musk. And this includes a lot of other people that are very famous in the tech industry, but maybe not household names across the country. And that has a little bit of a trickle down effect where in the past it may have been taboo or absolutely unpopular.

impossible to say that you supported Trump or even that you are a Republican now. It's kind of a lot more common. You encounter it a lot more frequently, and that's a huge change. And so once Trump won the election, we've seen the industry go even further than merely expressing support for him. They're making changes to their policies and their personnel.

impossible to say that you supported Trump or even that you are a Republican now. It's kind of a lot more common. You encounter it a lot more frequently, and that's a huge change. And so once Trump won the election, we've seen the industry go even further than merely expressing support for him. They're making changes to their policies and their personnel.

Over the past week, Meta, which is Facebook's parent company, said it is pulling back on fact-checking and policing disinformation on its platforms. The company's also changing its board of directors. They added Dana White, who is the CEO of USC and a big ally of Trump's, to its board. We did a whole episode about him. Yeah.

Over the past week, Meta, which is Facebook's parent company, said it is pulling back on fact-checking and policing disinformation on its platforms. The company's also changing its board of directors. They added Dana White, who is the CEO of USC and a big ally of Trump's, to its board. We did a whole episode about him. Yeah.

So these are all moves that align with the incoming president and his base of support. And Mark Zuckerberg even came out and said directly that he was doing this in response to what he saw as a cultural tipping point that the election represented.

So these are all moves that align with the incoming president and his base of support. And Mark Zuckerberg even came out and said directly that he was doing this in response to what he saw as a cultural tipping point that the election represented.

It's kind of both, in a way. It's partly a result of big tech becoming such a big and powerful industry. They're maturing. They're growing up. They are just like any other industry that needs to get in good with regulators and push back against regulation that they think will hinder their growth. But at the same time, I think it's also... kind of a cultural sea change for the tech industry.

It's kind of both, in a way. It's partly a result of big tech becoming such a big and powerful industry. They're maturing. They're growing up. They are just like any other industry that needs to get in good with regulators and push back against regulation that they think will hinder their growth. But at the same time, I think it's also... kind of a cultural sea change for the tech industry.

And it's being pushed forward by some of these really loud and influential voices that have just been kind of fed up with the direction that our broader culture, but also specifically tech culture, has been moving for the last 15 years. And the tech leader who maybe embodies this transformation the most is a venture capital investor named Marc Andreessen.

And it's being pushed forward by some of these really loud and influential voices that have just been kind of fed up with the direction that our broader culture, but also specifically tech culture, has been moving for the last 15 years. And the tech leader who maybe embodies this transformation the most is a venture capital investor named Marc Andreessen.

Yeah, so he's really a titan of Silicon Valley. He is the founder of a venture capital firm called Andreessen Horowitz that manages $44 billion. He has invested in some of the most prominent and successful companies startups to come out of Silicon Valley, you know, Pinterest, Slack, Airbnb, Coinbase. He's on the board of Facebook.

Yeah, so he's really a titan of Silicon Valley. He is the founder of a venture capital firm called Andreessen Horowitz that manages $44 billion. He has invested in some of the most prominent and successful companies startups to come out of Silicon Valley, you know, Pinterest, Slack, Airbnb, Coinbase. He's on the board of Facebook.

But more than that, he's kind of just like a VC thought leader who states his opinions very passionately. And the industry really follows and is influenced by what he says. He's also called himself a, quote unquote, normie Democrat for most of his life. He supported all the way going back to Bill Clinton and He supported Gore, Kerry, Obama, Hillary Clinton.

But more than that, he's kind of just like a VC thought leader who states his opinions very passionately. And the industry really follows and is influenced by what he says. He's also called himself a, quote unquote, normie Democrat for most of his life. He supported all the way going back to Bill Clinton and He supported Gore, Kerry, Obama, Hillary Clinton.