Venture capitalists at Silicon Valley are clear about their demands from White House campaigner Kamala Harris. They want abortion rights for women, reforms on climate change and a friendlier stance toward startups.
Around 800 venture capitalists signed an open letter of support in favour of the Democratic candidate and their policies. In a Reuters survey, 225 of them chose to reveal the reason for their endorsement of Harris.
Nearly all of these 225 felt that the Supreme Court overturning “Roe v. Wade” decision on abortion rights was a mistake. Some said that this hurt women at work.
“These are not social issues. These are actually business issues,” said Leslie Feinzaig, CEO of Graham & Walker who started the pledge.
Several investors and executives said they view Harris as a tech-savvy candidate. They feel that as a Californian with ties to Silicon Valley, she would be open to engaging with industry.
This rang bells of nostalgia for the Obama run White House. A decade ago, his administration recruited from and lauded the technology sector. Politicians in Washington have since taken a more critical tone.
TECH-SAVVY PRESIDENT
Some 97% people want a leader who is “knowledgeable about technologies like AI and crypto to build effective regulations. Nearly 92% believed the U.S. government needs to hire more technology talent, the survey results showed.
Aaron Levie said rules for now should focus on applications of technology more than underlying AI models that have yet to mature. Levie is the CEO of cloud-computing company Box.
“Regulation is going to set an important trajectory for this industry and our leadership in AI in the long run,” said Levie. He said immigration would, too.
Some 94% of poll respondents said the U.S. needed to make more high-skilled, H-1B visas available. They said it is a staple for tech companies that draw talent from abroad.
Silicon Valley also wants an easier path for startups to go public or sell to incumbents, the survey results and interviews showed.
TRUMP’S TECH BACKERS
Harris is not alone in garnering support from the tech industry. Her rival Donald Trump won over Tesla CEO Elon Musk and prominent VCs, including Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.
His running mate, J.D. Vance was a venture capitalist who co-founded a tech donor network aiming to push America to the right.
Trump has vowed to undo Biden’s AI executive order. However, Democratic backers have touted Biden’s record and Harris’ work securing voluntary corporate commitments on AI.
(The 225 who filled out the survey did so anonymously. They were 62% men, 66% white, largely aged 35 to 64. Although no one was asked to provide party affiliation, among those who self-disclosed, 70% were Democrats and 30% were Republicans or independents)
With inputs from Reuters
