The biggest donor in this round of the US midterm elections is neither Elon Musk, George Soros, nor any other billionaire with significant financial power in the political arena.
The true leader is a venture capital firm: Andreessen Horowitz (known as a16z).
An analysis by The New York Times shows that this Silicon Valley venture capital firm, along with its founding partners Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, has donated over $1.15 billion in political contributions towards activities related to the midterm elections, making it the largest known donor in this election cycle.
a16z's involvement in politics is not new, as the two founders themselves are seasoned political donors with a net worth in the tens of billions. However, this round of donations far exceeds the approximately $63 million donated in the 2024 election cycle. This top-tier investment firm is ramping up its political involvement unprecedentedly, attempting to influence policy direction to align with its own business interests.
Following the conclusion of the previous presidential election, a16z established a long-term engagement in politics. As per tradition, the day after the presidential election (still two years away from the next major election) is not the usual timing for large donations. However, on November 6, 2024, a16z injected over $23 million into the two core super PACs in the cryptocurrency industry, sending a clear signal: its political strategy is long-term and not merely following a trend.
Regarding media interview requests, a16z declined to comment and did not arrange for the two founders to be interviewed.
A few days later, Andreessen stated bluntly in an election recap podcast, "My conclusion is that we must treat political engagement as a lifelong mission. Sometimes you have to go with the flow, and other times you have to fight with all your might. But regardless of the situation, we must be deeply involved throughout the entire process."
The large-scale political donations by the venture capital firm also reflect a significant shift in the US political landscape. In this round of midterm elections, the primary donors have shifted from individual billionaire philanthropists to corporate entities like a16z. Critics argue that the substantial institutional involvement may sway the electoral process solely to seek their own commercial gains.
Since the 2024 election, a16z has invested $47.5 million in the cryptocurrency industry's super PAC network Fairshake.
Its involvement has also extended beyond the crypto track: following the Fairshake model, it led the formation of the super PAC Leading the Future, which focuses on supporting AI-friendly lawmakers, and invested $50 million. Both Fairshake and Leading the Future follow a bipartisan strategy, funding both Republican and Democratic candidates.
In addition, a16z and its two founders collectively donated $12 million to Trump's super PAC, MAGA Inc., with a single donation of $6 million in March. In the same month, a trust fund associated with Andreessen also donated nearly $900,000 to the Republican National Committee.
This series of political contributions has established close connections between Marc Andreessen and the Trump administration.
A chart showing the significant increase in public political donations by Andreessen and Horowitz this round illustrates: political donations from a16z and the founders surged from $2 million in 2022 to $115.5 million in 2026; the funds primarily flowed towards AI issues, the Republican camp, and the crypto industry.
Prior to Trump's second term starting last year, Andreessen revealed that he spent half of his time at Mar-a-Lago, assisting the Trump team in transitioning to power. This venture capitalist also served as an informal advisor to Musk's government efficiency department. Two former a16z partners have joined the government as senior officials, with one overseeing AI regulatory affairs.
In March of this year, the 54-year-old Andreessen was appointed to the White House's top technology advisory board; he was recently invited to attend a state dinner hosted by King Charles III of England during his visit to the United States and a private club dinner in the White House Rose Garden hosted by Trump.
Regulatory filing documents show that the large donations from Andreessen and Horowitz mostly come from the two fully-owned a16z entities. The $115.5 million raised during this election cycle does not yet include tens of millions of dollars recently invested by the entity in the emerging AI nonprofit advocacy group American Innovators Network, which does not need to disclose detailed donations.
a16z, founded in 2009, is one of Silicon Valley's most prestigious venture capital firms. Drawing inspiration from the Hollywood talent agency model to incubate startups, it has recruited aggressively, excelled at self-promotion, and made early bets on the cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase and the social platform Instagram, cementing its industry reputation.
Both co-founders have politically intriguing backgrounds. In the 1990s, Anderson gained fame at a young age through the early browser Mosaic, became wealthy, served as a core member of Al Gore's tech advisory team, and was a key fundraiser.
Years later, his political stance gradually shifted to the right. He revealed that after Trump's victory in 2016, he deliberately stepped back from political fundraising activities, embarked on a political awareness "introspection journey," and reexamined various ideological extremist trends.
According to individuals familiar with his private social activities, Anderson is now active in various private groups, often engaging in current affairs discussions with conservative activists.
Now 59, Horowitz, whose father is the well-known conservative commentator David Horowitz, is said to be less vocal about his political views himself and has relatively limited involvement in Super PAC affairs. In the summer of 2024, a16z publicly endorsed Trump, and in October of the same year, Horowitz provided financial support to presidential candidate Harris due to a personal relationship.
Anderson and Horowitz publicly identify as "single-issue voters": they only consider voting and donating if it benefits the development of tech startups. Insiders say that due to early clashes with the media and the Biden administration over tech policy, the two have ultimately solidified their determination to deeply engage in politics.
Anderson once shared a story with a friend. About a decade ago, he had a dispute with David Remnick, the editor-in-chief of The New Yorker's parent company, Conde Nast, at their headquarters. Remnick's team accused tech elites of being out of touch with the public, but after Anderson visited their lavish offices and bathrooms, he believed it was actually the media elites who were out of touch with reality.
Prior to the 2024 election, Chris Lehane, a veteran political operator in Silicon Valley and a board member at Coinbase, led the formation of Fairshake. Anderson and Horowitz felt that the Biden administration's stance on the crypto industry heavily invested in by a16z was too harsh; coupled with the conviction of crypto figure SBF for fraud, the industry urgently needed to chart a new political course.
Therefore, a16z, along with Coinbase, Ripple, and other crypto giants, became core funders of Fairshake. The organization donated $47 million to Fairshake during the 2024 election cycle. Although Washington's current pro-crypto stance is largely rooted in Trump (Fairshake did not endorse Trump), this political maneuver is still seen within the industry as a successful attempt.
In spring 2025, Lehane, who had already joined OpenAI, once again took the lead, partnering with a16z, tech magnates, and political operatives to replicate the cryptocurrency industry's political fundraising strategy in the field of artificial intelligence. They decided to make early strategic moves and increase their investment.
a16z, which has heavily invested in numerous projects in the artificial intelligence sector, made a significant move by donating $25 million to the Leading the Future AI Political Action Committee in August 2025 and another $25 million in February 2026. Sources revealed that the organization has not yet decided whether to make further contributions.
Compared to a16z's management of hundreds of billions of dollars in assets, the $115.5 million political investment is not considered high. However, other top Silicon Valley venture capital firms, such as Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund, have not taken similar bold political stances.
According to a New York Times analysis, since the 2024 election, the only entities with federal donations exceeding a16z are Soros-affiliated organizations (about $103 million) and Musk ($85 million).
This extensive political involvement has also plunged a16z into controversy and backlash.
Internally, the organization's early partner, John O'Farrell, resigned from his part-time advisory role in May last year due to political ideological differences. He publicly criticized the Fairshake and Leading the Future political action committees, as well as what he called "tech industry figures who actively cater to the current government, including many former venture capital colleagues and partners." He declined to comment further.
Externally, the progressive camp has strongly criticized a16z. Last year, several lawmakers openly criticized a fundraising event organized by Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego and Anderson.
a16z's support for the Leading the Future AI Political Action Committee has sparked industry counterbalances. The Public First super PAC, which upholds the idea of AI safety, was established as a counterforce to a16z and its allies' political funding influence. Insiders even jokingly referred to the organization as "z16a," deliberately reversing the commonly used abbreviation for a16z.
New York State Assemblyman Alex Bores is running for Congress and has received an endorsement from Public First. He boldly stated that he is not afraid of attacks from Leading the Future, saying, "The venture capital logic aims for rapid scale, but this logic should not be applied to buying influence in politics."
Some Republicans are also skeptical of a16z's political bet. Privately, they are unhappy with Fairshake and Leading the Future's insistence on a bipartisan strategy, believing that the artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industry policies are already more Republican-friendly, and that the relevant political action committees should fully align with the Republican Party.
Andreessen and Horowitz have informed allies that they have limited decision-making power in the two major political action committees and rarely interact directly with the committee leadership.
a16z's political strategy and Washington lobbying efforts are coordinated by former congressional aide and Republican, Collin McCune. He closely monitors the trends of the two major political action committees and simultaneously updates Andreessen on the latest policies and political landscape.
However, this does not mean that Andreessen is unaware of the political rules. In 2000, at the young age of 29, he asserted, "If you think that political donation sizes are large today, then you haven't seen the true scale yet."
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