David Sacks

David Sacks
Born	David Oliver Sacks 25 5, 1972
Birthplace	Cape Town, South Africa
Nationality	South African-American
Occupation	Entrepreneur, investor, government advisor
Title	Special Advisor to the President for AI and Crypto; Co-Chair, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
Known for	Co-founder and CEO of Yammer, COO of PayPal, co-founder of Craft Ventures, White House AI and crypto advisor
Children	3

David Oliver Sacks (born May 25, 1972) is a South African-born American entrepreneur, investor, author, and government advisor who has held influential roles across the technology industry for more than two decades. He first rose to prominence as the chief operating officer and product leader at PayPal during the company's formative years, where he worked alongside a group of executives who would later become collectively known as the "PayPal Mafia." Sacks went on to found Yammer, an enterprise social networking service that Microsoft acquired in 2012, and later served as interim CEO of Zenefits during a period of regulatory crisis at the human resources startup. As a venture capitalist, he co-founded Craft Ventures in 2017, an early-stage venture capital fund, and made early angel investments in companies including Facebook, Uber, SpaceX, Palantir Technologies, and Airbnb. In December 2024, President Donald Trump named Sacks as the White House's special advisor on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency policy, a newly created position he assumed upon the start of the administration in January 2025. He also serves as co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. His appointment has drawn both praise from technology industry advocates and scrutiny from journalists and ethics watchdogs over potential conflicts of interest arising from his extensive investment portfolio.

Early Life

David Oliver Sacks was born on May 25, 1972, in Cape Town, South Africa. He grew up in South Africa during the apartheid era before his family emigrated. Sacks eventually settled in the United States, where he pursued higher education and began his career in technology and media.

Details about Sacks's childhood and family background in South Africa remain limited in publicly available sources. His trajectory from Cape Town to the upper echelons of Silicon Valley placed him among a cohort of South African-born technology entrepreneurs who achieved prominence in the American technology sector.

While attending Stanford University in the early 1990s, Sacks became involved in campus intellectual life and conservative media. He co-authored a book titled The Diversity Myth: Multiculturalism and Political Intolerance on Campus with Peter Thiel, who would become a lifelong business partner and political ally. The book, published by the Independent Institute, critiqued what the authors described as the effects of multiculturalism policies at Stanford. The publication established Sacks as a commentator on cultural and educational policy and cemented his relationship with Thiel, with whom he would later collaborate at PayPal and in venture capital.

Education

Sacks attended Stanford University, where he studied economics. It was at Stanford that he met Peter Thiel and other individuals who would later become central figures in the PayPal founding team. After completing his undergraduate studies, Sacks went on to earn a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Chicago Law School. His legal education provided a foundation that he would later apply in navigating the regulatory and corporate complexities of the technology industry, though he chose to pursue a career in entrepreneurship and technology rather than legal practice.

Career

PayPal

Sacks joined PayPal in its early stages and served as the company's chief operating officer (COO) and product leader. In this role, he was responsible for shaping the company's product strategy during a critical period of growth as PayPal became the dominant online payments platform, particularly through its integration with eBay. Sacks worked alongside a team that included Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, Max Levchin, and other executives who would go on to found or fund major technology companies. This group later became known in Silicon Valley circles as the "PayPal Mafia," a reference to the outsized influence its members wielded in the subsequent generation of technology startups.

eBay acquired PayPal in October 2002 in a deal valued at approximately $1.5 billion. Following the acquisition, Sacks departed the company and began exploring new ventures and investments. His experience at PayPal—particularly his focus on product design and user experience—became a defining element of his professional identity and informed his subsequent work as both a founder and investor.

Yammer

In 2008, Sacks founded Yammer, an enterprise social networking service designed to facilitate internal communication within organizations. The platform operated on a freemium model, allowing employees within a company to sign up using their corporate email addresses and begin collaborating on a shared network. The concept drew on principles of consumer social networking but applied them to the workplace.

Under Sacks's leadership as CEO, Yammer grew rapidly. He described his management philosophy and approach to building the company in interviews with business publications. In an interview with Inc. magazine, Sacks discussed his hands-on approach to product development and the operational culture he cultivated at Yammer. The San Francisco Chronicle profiled Sacks as a CEO who brought product-focused sensibilities from his PayPal experience to the enterprise software market.

Yammer attracted significant venture capital funding and built a user base that included employees at hundreds of thousands of companies. In June 2012, Microsoft announced its acquisition of Yammer for approximately $1.2 billion. The acquisition was one of the larger enterprise social networking deals of the era and represented a major exit for Sacks and Yammer's investors. After the acquisition, Yammer was integrated into Microsoft's suite of enterprise products. Sacks transitioned away from day-to-day management of the company and turned his attention to investing.

Angel Investing

Following his tenure at PayPal and during and after his leadership of Yammer, Sacks became an active angel investor in Silicon Valley. His investment portfolio included early-stage stakes in a number of companies that would grow to become among the most valuable technology firms in the world. These investments included Facebook, Uber, SpaceX, Palantir Technologies, and Airbnb. His ability to identify and invest in companies at early stages, often leveraging his connections within the PayPal alumni network, established him as one of the more prominent angel investors in Silicon Valley during the 2010s.

Sacks discussed his investment philosophy and experiences in various interviews, emphasizing the importance of product-market fit and founder capability as key criteria in his investment decisions.

Zenefits

In late 2014, Sacks joined Zenefits, a human resources technology startup, as chief operating officer and made a significant personal investment in the company. At the time, Zenefits was one of the fastest-growing startups in Silicon Valley, offering a cloud-based platform for managing employee benefits, payroll, and human resources administration. Business Insider reported on the rationale behind Sacks's decision to take an operational role at the company, citing the opportunity to apply his experience in scaling enterprise software businesses.

However, Zenefits soon became embroiled in regulatory problems. The company faced scrutiny over compliance issues related to its insurance brokerage operations, including allegations that employees had sold insurance without proper licenses. In February 2016, Sacks became the company's interim CEO after the previous CEO, Parker Conrad, resigned amid the compliance crisis. Zenefits was fined by Tennessee regulators in what became the first settlement related to the licensing issues.

As interim CEO, Sacks undertook a restructuring of the company, focusing on addressing the compliance failures and rebuilding Zenefits' reputation. He oversaw changes to the company's internal culture and business practices, worked to settle regulatory disputes, and refocused the product strategy. Under his leadership, Zenefits opened up its platform to third-party developers and launched a new suite of human resources tools. Sacks discussed the company's efforts to move past its compliance problems in an interview with Bloomberg Television, stating that the company was focused on "closing the chapter on compliance issues." PC World covered the company's reinvention efforts under Sacks's direction.

Sacks served as interim CEO of Zenefits for approximately ten months before stepping down, having stabilized the company's operations and addressed the most pressing regulatory concerns.

Craft Ventures

In late 2017, Sacks co-founded Craft Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund based in San Francisco. The firm focused on investing in technology startups, with particular emphasis on enterprise software, fintech, and other sectors in which Sacks had built expertise through his career as a founder and operator. Craft Ventures represented a formalization of the investing activities Sacks had pursued as an angel investor, providing a dedicated fund structure and team for sourcing, evaluating, and supporting startup investments.

As a general partner of Craft Ventures, Sacks continued to maintain a high profile in the technology industry, participating in industry events and discussions about technology trends, startup strategy, and public policy affecting the technology sector.

All-In Podcast

Sacks became widely known to a broader audience as a co-host of the All-In podcast, which launched in 2020. The podcast features Sacks alongside fellow technology investors Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, and David Friedberg. The four hosts, who refer to themselves as the "besties," discuss topics ranging from technology and business to economics and politics. The podcast developed a large following and became one of the most prominent technology and business podcasts in the United States. The show's blend of insider perspectives on Silicon Valley, financial markets, and political commentary attracted listeners from both the technology industry and the broader public.

White House AI and Crypto Advisor

In December 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Sacks would serve as the administration's special advisor on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency policy, a newly created position colloquially referred to as the "AI and crypto czar." Sacks assumed the role on January 20, 2025, when the Trump administration took office. On January 23, 2025, he was additionally named co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), alongside Michael Kratsios.

In his government role, Sacks has been involved in formulating federal policy related to AI regulation, cryptocurrency market structure, and the United States' competitive position in emerging technologies. He has publicly commented on legislative efforts to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets, including cryptocurrency market structure legislation advancing through the United States Senate.

The appointment has generated significant scrutiny regarding potential conflicts of interest. Sacks holds extensive investments in AI and cryptocurrency companies through Craft Ventures and his personal portfolio. NPR reported in December 2025 that Sacks faced criticism over the overlap between his government advisory role and his private AI investments. The New York Times published an investigation in November 2025 reporting that Sacks had helped formulate policies that benefited his Silicon Valley associates and his own financial interests.

Politico reported in December 2025 that some technology industry lobbyists had grown concerned about Sacks's approach to AI policy, with fears that his actions could complicate the industry's regulatory agenda rather than advance it. While Sacks was expected to champion the technology sector's interests in Washington, some industry observers suggested that his policy positions and approach were creating uncertainty.

The Boston Review examined the broader context of cryptocurrency policy under the Trump administration, noting the influence of figures like Sacks in shaping an environment favorable to the digital assets industry.

Personal Life

David Sacks has three children. He has been based in the San Francisco Bay Area for much of his career, though reporting by Business Insider in early 2026 indicated that Sacks, like other technology investors, has considered relocating amid discussions about California tax policy, with Miami and Austin cited as potential alternative bases for technology and finance professionals. The Marin Independent Journal referenced Sacks among a broader cohort of billionaires reportedly considering departures from California in response to proposed wealth tax legislation.

Sacks has been a donor to political campaigns and causes, and his political activities and commentary, particularly through the All-In podcast, have made him a visible figure in discussions about the intersection of technology and politics in the United States. His relationship with Peter Thiel, dating back to their time at Stanford University, has been one of the most enduring professional partnerships in Silicon Valley.

Recognition

Sacks's career has been characterized by involvement in several of the most significant companies and developments in the technology industry over a period spanning more than two decades. His role at PayPal placed him at the center of the online payments revolution of the early 2000s, while Yammer's acquisition by Microsoft for approximately $1.2 billion represented one of the notable enterprise software exits of the 2010s. His angel investments in companies such as Facebook, Uber, SpaceX, Palantir, and Airbnb further cemented his reputation as an investor with an ability to identify transformative companies at early stages.

His appointment as the first White House special advisor for AI and cryptocurrency policy represented a new form of recognition, placing him at the nexus of government technology policy during a period of rapid advancement in artificial intelligence and growing institutional adoption of digital assets. The creation of the position itself reflected the increasing importance of these technology sectors to national economic and security policy.

Sacks's role as co-host of the All-In podcast has given him a media platform that extends his influence beyond traditional venture capital and corporate circles into the broader public discourse on technology, economics, and politics.

Legacy

David Sacks's career spans multiple phases of the modern technology industry. As a member of the PayPal founding team, he contributed to a company and a network of entrepreneurs that fundamentally shaped the trajectory of Silicon Valley in the 21st century. The PayPal alumni network, of which Sacks is a central member, went on to found, fund, or lead companies collectively worth hundreds of billions of dollars, including Tesla, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Yelp, in addition to the companies in Sacks's own investment portfolio.

With Yammer, Sacks demonstrated the viability of applying consumer social networking principles to enterprise software, a concept that influenced the broader development of workplace collaboration tools. The company's acquisition by Microsoft contributed to the evolution of Microsoft's enterprise product strategy.

His tenure at Zenefits, while brief, illustrated his willingness to take on operational challenges in crisis situations, a role that drew on his experience as both a founder and product leader.

As a venture capitalist through Craft Ventures, Sacks has continued to invest in and shape early-stage technology companies. His transition to government service in 2025 as the White House AI and crypto advisor marked a new chapter, placing a prominent Silicon Valley investor and operator directly within the executive branch during a period of transformative technological change. The appointment also intensified public debate about the relationship between technology industry wealth, political influence, and government policy—a debate that is likely to be a defining feature of Sacks's public legacy.