Read Ben Horowitz’s email to A16z saying he plans to donate to Harris

• Ben Horowitz, the co-founder of A16z, said in July that he plans to support former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
• An email to A16z employees now reveals that they plan to donate to Vice President Kamala Harris.
• The investor wrote that he and his wife will make a “significant donation” to support Harris.

Ben Horowitz, the erudite co-founder of venture capital firm A16z, sent an email to staff that he plans to donate to support the Harris-Walz campaign, Business Insider has confirmed.

The email, which Axios first reported, came as a surprise given that Horowitz had already donated to support former President Donald Trump less than three months ago.

In Friday’s email, Horowitz wrote that he and his wife, Felicia, have known Vice President Kamala Harris for more than 10 years and that she “has been a great friend to both of us during that time.”

“As a result of our friendship, Felicia and I will be making a significant donation to entities that support the Harris Walz campaign,” the email said.

Horowitz stopped short of saying he would endorse or vote for the Democratic presidential nominee.

The couple wants to establish a working relationship with both candidates in the final days of one of the closest presidential races of the century, according to a person familiar with Ben and Felicia Horowitz’s thinking.

On July 16, just days before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Horowitz and his close business partner Marc Andreessen said on their podcast that Trump would better support emerging technology companies and startups.

“The future of our business, the future of technology, new technology and America is literally at stake,” Horowitz said on the podcast. “So here we are. For small tech, we think Donald Trump is actually the right choice.”

Although Horowitz wrote in the email to A16z employees that he would donate to entities supporting the Harris-Walz campaign, the venture capitalist noted that he has not yet heard what the campaign’s technology policies will be.

“While I have had several conversations with VP Harris and her team regarding their likely technology policies, and I am encouraged by my belief in her, they have not yet stated what their technology policy will be, so the firm will not update its position in in this regard,” he wrote in the email.

Read the email below:

a16zers,

I wanted to give you an update on my political work. As I mentioned earlier, Felicia and I have known Vice President Harris for over 10 years and she has been a great friend to both of us during that time. She was also a friend of the company in our early days, helping with several events at my house when we built the original Cultural Leadership Fund network. As a result of our friendship, Felicia and I will be making a significant donation to entities that support the Harris Walz campaign.

From a firm perspective, we continue to only take positions consistent with our Little Tech Agenda and how the various candidates who support or do not support policies to build a strong startup tech industry. While I’ve had several conversations with VP Harris and her team about their likely technology policies, and I’m encouraged by my belief in her, they haven’t yet stated what their technology policy will be, so the firm won’t update their position on that. watch As I stated earlier, the Biden Administration has been exceptionally disruptive in terms of technology policy across the industry, but especially in regards to Crypto/Blockchain and AI. So, while I have high hopes that the Harris Administration will be much better, they have yet to state their intentions.

Ben