David Sacks has concluded his tenure as Donald Trump’s AI and crypto czar.
In an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, the prominent entrepreneur, investor, and podcaster confirmed the conclusion of his non-consecutive 130-day service as a special government employee. Sacks will now transition to co-chair the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) with Michael Kratsios, the senior White House technology adviser.
This transition signifies a notable shift, positioning Sacks further from the direct centers of power in Washington than he has been since the inception of this second Trump administration. In his previous role as AI czar, Sacks enjoyed direct access to Trump and played a role in policy formulation. PCAST, however, functions as a federal advisory body, tasked with researching issues, generating reports, and submitting recommendations, but without the authority to establish policy.
While the council has a historical lineage dating back to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's era, Sacks emphasized to Bloomberg that this specific iteration boasts “the most star power of any group like this” ever assembled, a claim difficult to dispute. Its initial 15 members comprise an impressive roster of tech luminaries, including Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle's Larry Ellison, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Marc Andreessen, AMD's Lisa Su, and Michael Dell, among others – a collection notably rich in billionaire influence.
Sacks informed Bloomberg that PCAST's agenda will encompass artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductors, quantum computing, and nuclear power. Immediate efforts will focus on advancing Trump’s national AI framework, which was unveiled last week. This framework seeks to supplant what Sacks characterized to Bloomberg as a chaotic array of disparate state-level regulations. He stated, “You’ve got 50 different states regulating this in 50 different ways, and it’s creating a patchwork of regulation that’s difficult for our innovators to comply with.”
Conspicuously absent from Sacks' direct remarks was an explanation for the timing of this transition or whether his recent public statements played a role. Earlier this month, during an episode of the popular “All In” podcast, which he co-hosts, Sacks publicly advocated for the administration to seek an exit from the U.S.-backed conflict with Iran. He outlined a series of escalating scenarios, including attacks on oil infrastructure in neighboring countries, the destruction of desalination plants, and the potential for nuclear engagement by Israel, ultimately calling for a diplomatic resolution. In response, Trump informed reporters that Sacks had not discussed the war with him. (The U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran has reportedly been ongoing for approximately 27 days.)
When Bloomberg questioned him on Thursday regarding the podcast episode, Sacks figuratively distanced himself, stating, “I’m not on the foreign policy team or the national security team.” He further clarified that his comments on the podcast reflected his personal opinions rather than an official stance.
Despite the high-profile individuals Sacks is assembling for PCAST, it is pertinent to consider the council's historical role: an advisory body whose influence has varied significantly across different administrations, ranging from substantial to negligible.
President Obama’s iteration of PCAST is widely regarded as the most productive to date, having generated 36 reports over eight years. Notably, two of these reports directly informed concrete policy shifts, including an FDA regulation that facilitated the market for over-the-counter hearing aids.
In contrast, President Trump’s first-term council required nearly three years simply to appoint its initial members, ultimately producing a limited number of reports without leaving a significant impact. President Biden’s council, conversely, leaned heavily academic, comprising Nobel laureates, MacArthur fellows, and National Academy members, and issued a modest volume of reports before the conclusion of his administration.
The present PCAST represents a distinct departure, drawing its composition almost entirely from the executive leadership of companies at the forefront of the very technologies it is tasked with advising upon.
Sacks now reverts to the status of an unencumbered executive, poised to fully re-engage with his career as an investor and entrepreneur. A spokesperson for Craft Ventures, the firm Sacks co-founded and where he continues as a partner, has not yet provided responses to inquiries regarding his future endeavors. Last year, TechCrunch reported on the ethics waivers Sacks secured, which allowed him to retain financial interests in AI and crypto companies while simultaneously influencing federal policy in those sectors—an arrangement that attracted considerable criticism from ethics experts and lawmakers.
The Editorial Staff at AIChief is a team of professional content writers with extensive experience in AI and marketing. Founded in 2025, AIChief has quickly grown into the largest free AI resource hub in the industry.