David Sacks

David Oliver Sacks (born May 25, 1972) is a South African-American entrepreneur, author, and investor in internet technology firms. He is a general partner of Craft Ventures, a venture capital fund he co-founded in late 2017. Additionally, he is a co-host of the All In podcast, alongside Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis and David Friedberg. Previously, Sacks was the COO and product leader of PayPal, and founder and CEO of Yammer. In 2016, he became interim CEO of Zenefits for ten months. In 2017, Sacks co-founded Craft Ventures, an early-stage venture fund. His angel investments include Facebook, Uber, SpaceX, Palantir Technologies, and Airbnb. In December 2024, President Donald Trump named Sacks the White House AI and crypto czar for the incoming administration; he stepped down in March 2026.

Early life Sacks was born to a Jewish family in Cape Town, South Africa, and emigrated to Tennessee, United States, with his family when he was five. Though Sacks did not know he wanted to become an entrepreneur, he did not want to work in a profession like his father, who was an endocrinologist. He says he took inspiration from his grandfather, who started a candy factory in the 1920s.

Sacks attended Memphis University School in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Stanford University in 1994

Career

PayPal In 1999, Sacks left his job as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company to join Max Levchin, Peter Thiel, and Luke Nosek's e-commerce startup Confinity. Later that year, Sacks was the inaugural product leader of Confinity's milestone product, and corporate successor, PayPal. Upon promotion to Paypal COO, he built many of the company's key teams, and was responsible for product management and design, sales and marketing, business development, international, customer service, fraud operations, and human resources functions. PayPal had their initial public offering in February 2002. It was one of the first IPOs after the September 11 attacks. The stock rose more than 54% on the first day. In October 2002, eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion.

Sacks is a member of the so-called "PayPal Mafia", a group of founders and early employees of PayPal who went on to found a series of other successful technology companies. They are often credited with inspiring Web 2.0 and the re-emergence of consumer-focused Internet companies after the dot-com bubble bust of 2001.

Film producer

Following PayPal's acquisition, Sacks produced and financed the political satire Thank You for Smoking, which premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, was acquired by Twentieth Century Fox for theatrical release in 2006, and was nominated for two Golden Globes, including 'Best Motion Picture.' Dalíland premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired by Magnolia Pictures for theatrical release in 2023. Geni was acquired by MyHeritage in 2012.

Yammer

In 2008, Yammer launched the first enterprise social network, a secure solution for internal corporate communication and collaboration, winning the grand prize at TechCrunch50 conference. According to Social Capital, Yammer's viral approach made it among the fastest-growing Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies in history, exceeding eight million enterprise users in just four years. Yammer received approximately $142 million in funding from venture capital firms such as Charles River Ventures, Founders Fund, Emergence Capital Partners, and Goldcrest Investments.

In July 2012, Microsoft acquired Yammer for $1.2 billion as a core part of its cloud/social strategy.

Zenefits In December 2014, Sacks made a "major investment" in Zenefits. In January 2016, Zenefits' board asked him to step in as interim CEO amidst mounting regulatory issues and financial underperformance. The outgoing CEO, founder Parker Conrad, said he was unfairly forced out and likened Sacks' actions to a "coup."

Over the next year, Sacks negotiated a resolution with insurance regulators across the US, receiving praise for "righting the ship". Sacks also revamped Zenefits' product line with an initiative he named "Z2", introducing a SaaS business model. Shortly after, PC Magazine noted that Zenefits had become "the best HR software on the market," while Buzzfeed reported the company was losing over $200 million annually. After just 10 months in the role, Sacks was succeeded by former Ooyala CEO Jay Fulcher.

Craft Ventures In late 2017, Sacks co-founded Craft Ventures and raised an initial fund of $350 million.

According to the company’s Medium posts, Craft Ventures raised a $500 million fund in 2019, announced two new funds in 2021, totaling $1.3 billion and bringing total assets under management to $2 billion, and announced Ventures IV and Growth II in 2023, totaling $1.3 billion and bringing the firm’s assets under management to $3.3 billion. In 2023, Callin was acquired by Rumble.

Glue Also in 2021, Sacks and his former colleague from Craft, Evan Owen, co-founded a workspace chat company called Glue. Their product is an AI tool that could be invoked from specific chats on platforms like Google Meet and Zoom, allowing employees to get AI assistance during conversations. It was launched to the public in May 2024.

Political career On December 5, 2024, President Donald Trump named Sacks the White House AI and crypto czar, a newly created role with the goal of building a legal framework for the cryptocurrency industry. Trump also named him to lead the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Trump said that Sacks would "safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship." Trump further stated that Sacks would "work on a legal framework so the crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S."

According to Bloomberg News, Sacks would be a "special government employee," allowing him to work for the government for a maximum of 130 days per year, with or without compensation. This status exempts him from undergoing confirmation hearings and from specific financial disclosure requirements.

Sacks announced the end of his tenure in March 2026.

Reaction to appointment The appointment of Sacks sparked various reactions. The tech community, particularly those with conservative-libertarian leanings, viewed it as an opportunity for less regulation and more innovation, aligning with Trump's promises to promote cryptocurrency and challenge previous AI policies to compete with China. Sacks, known for his involvement in Trump's campaign, including hosting a fundraiser and speaking at the Republican National Convention, underscores his political alignment.

Concerns were raised about potential conflicts of interest due to Sacks' continued involvement in the private sector.

AI safety advocates also criticized Sacks over his opposition to regulations related to Silicon Valley. Sam Altman of OpenAI expressed confidence in the integrity of such appointees.

The Diversity Myth After graduating from Stanford, Sacks co-authored with Peter Thiel the 1995 book The Diversity Myth: Multiculturalism and the Politics of Intolerance at Stanford, published by the Independent Institute. The book is critical of political correctness in higher education and argues that more intellectual diversity is needed on college campuses.

Support for political campaigns According to the Federal Election Commission, Sacks donated $50,000 to Republican Party candidate Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in 2012. In 2016, he donated nearly $70,000 to Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

In the 2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall elections, Sacks gave one of the largest contributions to support the recall. He is also a significant booster of Republican candidates, sponsoring a spring 2022 fundraiser for GOP Senate hopefuls including JD Vance and Blake Masters alongside his former colleague and partner Keith Rabois. In total, Sacks directly gave over $1 million to Senate candidates in 2022.

Sacks was the moderator when Ron DeSantis announced his 2024 presidential campaign on Twitter Spaces on May 24, 2023. He praised DeSantis and donated $50,000 to his campaign. Later in June 2023, Sacks hosted a $10,000 per plate fundraiser for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He also hosted a campaign fundraiser for Donald Trump at his home in June 2024, which raised around $12 million. Sacks was a speaker at the 2024 Republican National Convention. He voted for Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

Russian invasion of Ukraine Since October 2022, Sacks has been commenting on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, taking a view against US involvement in Ukraine, and especially US military assistance for Ukraine.

Silicon Valley Bank bank run Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Sacks advocated for urgent government action to prevent the bank run from spreading to other regional banks.

Personal life On July 7, 2007, Sacks married Jacqueline Tortorice. The couple have two daughters and one son. In June 2024, they hosted a sold-out fundraiser for Donald Trump at their home, with tickets from $50,000 to $300,000 per person.

In December 2025, Sacks moved to Austin, Texas where he opened another Craft Ventures office.