David Sacks steps down as White House AI czar, joins Trump tech council alongside Zuckerberg, Huang
White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks officially announces on Thursday he is stepping down and will instead co-chair President Trump’s new 13-member tech council, keeping him front and center in shaping the nation's AI policy.
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David Sacks is stepping down as White House AI and crypto czar after reaching the legal limit for special government employees.
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His next role keeps him involved in shaping US AI policy from inside Trump's new White House tech council.
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The council brings some of the most powerful names in Silicon Valley directly into White House tech decision-making.
The move was not a major surprise, since Sacks’ role as a “special government employee” was set to last only 130 days within a 12-month period under US Congressional rules.
The Silicon Valley insider, who made the announcement on Thursday during an interview with Bloomberg TV, was appointed to his post by the President on December 5th, 2024.
During the interview, Sacks also confirmed he would be joining the newly formed 13-member President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) as co-chair, alongside Michael Kratsios, the current White House top science and technology policy official.
The council – and Sacks’ position – publicly announced by the White House on Wednesday, is already set up with several big tech heavyweights, including Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle executive chairman Larry Ellison, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen are also among the initial appointees.
Expected to focus on how to keep America at the forefront of global competition in emerging technologies, PCAST could eventually be expanded to a total of 24 members, the White House said.
“Under President Trump, PCAST will focus on topics related to the opportunities and challenges that present to the American workforce, and ensuring all Americans thrive in the Golden Age of Innovation,” the announcement states.
During his 130 days as czar, Sacks helped formulate various US policies to accelerate AI development and innovation, including reducing regulatory burdens, loosening Biden-era restrictions on AI chip sales, and creating an overarching national AI policy designed to supersede the current “patchwork” of state AI laws.
As for changes in the US crypto sector, Sacks helped create a national regulatory framework governing digital assets and new anti-money-laundering standards.
A longtime Silicon Valley entrepreneur, investor, and Trump confidant, Sacks is a partner at the San Francisco-based venture capital firm Craft Ventures, which he co-founded in 2017 with American tech entrepreneur and investor Bill Lee.
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