A Venture Capitalist Heads to the White House

A venture capitalist is stepping into one of the highest offices in the U.S.—the vice presidency—but whether he’ll be a friend or foe to Silicon Valley is still unclear. 

Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance should know what helps startups and their investors, thanks to his five years working in venture capital. During that time, he made early-stage investments in a handful of companies as Peter Thiel helped him establish relationships across the industry.

Vance has already weighed in on some hot-button tech issues: He supports open-source artificial intelligence models, which he has said could prevent “crazy people” from using AI to fuel “left-wing bias.” And he’s been an adamant supporter of Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, despite broader criticism that her policy has chilled the M&A environment—a sore point for many venture capitalists.