Silicon Valley players cheer on JD Vance as Big Tech looks to curb Trump fallout

Some Big Tech moguls are cheering on Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) as Silicon Valley looks to one of their own to gain favor in a potential second Trump White House.

Former President Donald Trump on Monday tapped the Ohio senator to be his running mate. Known for his nationalistic takes on policy, Vance’s ties to Big Tech are less widely publicized.

A few years after graduating from Yale Law School, Vance took a job in Silicon Valley at Mithril Capital Management, a venture firm backed by billionaire Peter Thiel. In 2017, Vance moved on to Washington, D.C., to work at another venture capital firm, Revolution LLC. Two years later, the Ohioan would leave the firm to start his own venture firm back in his home state.

In 2019, Vance formed Narya Capital. The Hillbilly Elegy author’s startup was backed by his former boss, Thiel, as well as prominent investors Eric Schmidt and Marc Andreessen.

In an industry where Big Tech moguls such as Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos are viewed with suspicion by the Trump camp, some have attracted attention for their faith in Vance as a colleague who can make their voice heard.

“He will be good for Silicon Valley because he is a good free market capitalist who believes in growth and innovation and eliminating the regulation that strangles growth,” said Crystal McKellar, who worked with Vance during his days at Mithril Capital. “And he’ll be good for the country for all the same reasons and because he feels genuine compassion for those forgotten and left behind by progress.”

As a Silicon Valley insider, Vance is one of the leaders of a faction in the Republican Party known as the “New Right,” and he is known for his rigorous defense of hard-line nationalism and protectionism. Committed to the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, adamant rejection of multiculturalism, and embrace of foreign policies that pull America back from being the propagator of democracy abroad, critics warn Vance’s philosophy walks the tightrope between patriotism and racism.

While Vance naysayers say the Ohioan is in danger of nurturing isolationism and perpetuating a homogenous society through anti-immigrant ideas, many of the tech industry’s biggest players focus on the value one of their former colleagues could bring to the White House.

McKellar isn’t alone in believing one of Silicon Valley’s own could help out Big Tech. Matt Murphy is a partner at Menlo Ventures who has faith that a “tech-savvy” vice president is a bonus for the Republican Party.

“I think having somebody who understands tech is great,” Murphy said. “We actually have a young candidate who seems to be tech-savvy. I think it’s good for the party.”

Meanwhile, Silicon Valley giant Delian Asparouhov celebrated Trump’s vice presidential pick with an enthusiastic, all-caps endorsement on X.

“IT’S JD VANCE. WE HAVE A FORMER TECH VC IN THE WHITE HOUSE. GREATEST COUNTRY ON EARTH BABY,” Asparouhov posted on Monday. Asparouhov is a partner at Founders Fund, which is backed by Thiel.

Other high-profile tech industry figures, including Elon Musk and David Sacks, have added their praise for Vance. Chamath Palihapitiya also posted a rousing appreciation post for the senator on Monday.

“A Bestie adjacent as the VP?!” the venture capitalist posted to X after Trump announced his running mate. Palihapitiya’s tech podcast, All In, refers to co-hosts Sacks, Jason Calacanis, and David Friedberg by the term “Besties.”

While Vance receives warm words from some high-profile names in the tech industry, there’s no guarantee that the Ohio senator will jump into their open arms.

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Trump’s vice presidential pick has had some critical words for the tech industry, strongly supports tariffs, and said he supports Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan’s Big Tech antitrust crackdown.

“I look at Lina Khan as one of the few people in the Biden administration that I think is actually doing a pretty good job,” Vance said in February. As he looks to join forces with a Trump White House next January, it remains to be seen how Vance might play up to his industry roots.