By: Emily Birnbaum, Oma Seddiq, Bloomberg
Translated by: Saoirse, Foresight News
One of Silicon Valley's most renowned venture capital firms has become a behind-the-scenes advocate influencing Washington's artificial intelligence policy. As Donald Trump expresses support for the industry’s full-throttle push in this emerging technology field, the company's voice has become increasingly critical.
According to current and former White House and congressional aides, today, when senior White House officials and senior Republican congressional staff consider measures that could impact technology companies' artificial intelligence initiatives, the first external organization they typically call for consultation is a16z.
Their main point of contact is the firm's chief lobbyist in the capital, Collin McCune. A former White House official stated that this company, abbreviated a16z, holds veto power over nearly all proposals related to artificial intelligence.
"They are an absolutely powerful lobbying force, possibly the single most influential institution I've seen in recent years," said Doug Calidas, chief lobbyist for Americans for Responsible Innovation. The organization opposes a16z's attempts to weaken state laws related to artificial intelligence.
The rise of the firm in Washington can be attributed to its massive investment in influence, co-founder Marc Andreessen's close relationship with Trump, and a network of partners who once worked at the company and now hold key positions in the government. At the same time, it cleverly packages its invested startups as paragons of free-market innovation praised by a Republican-dominated Washington.
a16z's bold and radical approach along with its enthusiasm for deregulation reinforces the government's view: that most regulatory constraints imposed on artificial intelligence would jeopardize America's competitiveness in this rapidly evolving technology field, which is a vital driver of recent economic growth in the U.S. The company is also a key player in the Trump administration's obstruction of state-level artificial intelligence regulatory measures.
Marc Andreessen and his wife, renowned American philanthropist Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, photographed in April. Photographer: Craig T Fruchtman/Getty Images
White House spokesperson Kush Desai stated in a statement that Trump and his advisers "have always been willing to listen to the views of business and tech leaders," but "the only special interest that guides this administration's decisions is the best interest of the American people; only President Trump has veto power over government policy."
Collin McCune also stated in the release that Trump is "the sole person in this administration formulating artificial intelligence policy."
As of January, a16z managed assets reaching $90 billion, making it the largest venture capital firm by asset size in Silicon Valley (note: this refers specifically to pure VC operations). The firm recently completed the largest round of funding in history, raising $15 billion and investing billions of dollars in emerging artificial intelligence firms like Cursor and LM Arena. These companies, along with a16z's stakes in major tech companies like OpenAI and Meta, will benefit from its push for relaxed regulatory policies in Washington.
The firm’s uncompromising stance has made compromises in artificial intelligence-related legislation more challenging, sometimes leading to frustration among lobbyists from large tech companies that are also allies in Washington. According to insiders, while tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon have expressed a willingness to compromise on federal artificial intelligence standards, a16z has directly rejected proposals that would impose significant new regulations on artificial intelligence development.
a16z's chief legal and policy officer Jai Ramaswamy stated, "The end result is that large companies begin to make trade-offs." Large enterprises can leverage legal and compliance budgets, whereas "a small company started by a few people in a garage simply cannot afford to make these compromises."
Many artificial intelligence skeptics believe this technology could harm users, replicate existing biases against vulnerable groups, and replace jobs across various industries, hence should be regulated. Some artificial intelligence developers even believe that without constraints, artificial intelligence could lead to the apocalypse.
Last December, someone attempted to use a mandatory defense bill to stop states from enacting laws related to artificial intelligence safety, which is a clear representation of a16z's influence. Just months earlier, technology industry allies in Congress tried to add similar provisions to Trump's signature tax legislation but were thwarted by Republican governors, MAGA-aligned influencers, and child safety organizations.
According to a senior Republican aide, when weighing the defense bill's related maneuvers, a16z's lobbyist Collin McCune was the first outside party to be called. Collin McCune gave clear support and immediately acted to assist in coordinating advancements with White House artificial intelligence head David Sacks, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz.
This legislative maneuver was ultimately unsuccessful, but Trump subsequently used presidential power to achieve the same goal: signing an executive order to prevent states from enacting regulatory rules to mitigate dangers related to artificial intelligence. According to someone close to the White House, a16z also assisted the government in drafting the content of this directive. The executive order echoed a novel assertion promoted by a16z: that according to the "Dormant Commerce Clause" in the Constitution, states lack the authority to regulate a national artificial intelligence market.
In December, Trump signed an executive order limiting states' powers to regulate artificial intelligence, which has long been a goal of the tech industry's lobbying efforts. Photographer: Alex Wong/Getty Images
The hardline leadership of the firm is determined to create influence that extends beyond Trump's presidency and prepare for a potential Democratic resurgence. According to a participant, last spring, Marc Andreessen and a16z partner Chris Dixon accepted an invitation from moderate Democrats to host a policy meeting focused on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, attended by several Democratic representatives in the House.
"They are trying to cultivate factions within both parties and at all levels of government that support innovation," said Adam Kovacevich, president of Chamber of Progress, an organization aligned with Democratic positions, of which a16z is a member.
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have packaged their push for deregulation as the "Small Tech Agenda," attempting to position the venture capital firm as a defender of vulnerable startups. This manifesto was initially released in 2024 when public sentiment was deeply dissatisfied with large tech companies. a16z's chief lobbyist Collin McCune has also adopted this terminology, stating that his guiding principle is "to protect small tech entrepreneurs and enable them to thrive."
Critics scoff at this. "They think anyone who wants to provide some protections for Americans is an idiot," said New York Assemblymember Alex Bores, who became a target of a16z for initiating artificial intelligence safety legislation in his state.
The firm holds stakes in several large companies, including SpaceX, xAI, Airbnb, and Anduril Industries, and these early investments have soared in value. According to PitchBook data, a16z has invested in 10 of the 15 highest-valued venture-backed private companies globally. Its core business is betting on new companies that have the potential to become the next tech giants—this model relies on protecting the rapid expansion of startups. Another significant profit model for a16z is the acquisition of its invested startups by large tech companies.
Critics argue that the firm's holdings in large tech companies make its defense of "small tech" seem hollow. a16z has not lobbied in support of using antitrust laws to restrain the power of the largest tech firms.
Currently, a16z's position on artificial intelligence policy often aligns with that of the largest tech companies. When New York Assemblymember Alex Bores was about to pass his artificial intelligence safety bill, he requested guidance from a16z's policy team on how to define small, medium, and large artificial intelligence developers. Alex Bores initially agreed that the strictest provisions in the bill should only apply to the largest companies to protect startups.
a16z's suggestion was that "small" developers should be defined as companies with annual revenue from artificial intelligence products not exceeding $50 billion.
"That basically excludes every company on Earth," Alex Bores stated in an interview. Ultimately, after strong lobbying from a16z and other tech companies, the version of the bill signed by New York's Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul was significantly weakened.
Now, the firm is setting its sights on the next step: assisting in the establishment of federal artificial intelligence standards that could possibly replace state-level artificial intelligence laws after Trump’s presidency. a16z released a federal artificial intelligence legislative roadmap in mid-December, calling for the inclusion of provisions for "model transparency"—requiring artificial intelligence developers to disclose certain details about their models, such as intended use, as well as protections for children using artificial intelligence. Furthermore, a16z's proposal focuses on punishing "bad actors" who misuse artificial intelligence rather than regulating the developers themselves.
Doug Calidas from the artificial intelligence safety organization Americans for Responsible Innovation countered that a16z's macro proposals are merely "small steps" and lack plans to mitigate the threats posed by artificial intelligence. He added that their proposed transparency clauses only require developers to disclose "the most basic" information about their products.
According to two congressional aides involved in the preparations, core Republican members of Congress have adopted a16z's proposal as a starting point for legislation. However, federal artificial intelligence legislation is evolving into a significant showdown, with numerous stakeholders, including safety organizations advocating for holding artificial intelligence developers accountable for the damages their products cause.
"How much influence we can exert will be a hard-fought battle," said Sunny Gandhi from Encode, "but they can't just push things through forcefully."
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