David Sacks, U.S. President Donald Trump’s AI and crypto czar, speaks to press outside of the White House on March 7, 2025, in Washington, D.C.

David Sacks, it appears, has a bone to pick. The San Francisco tech mogul and White House adviser was the subject of a lengthy New York Times investigation published on Sunday, so he spent the day resharing complaints about the nation’s paper of record from his friends in power.

The story, headlined, “Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends” and co-bylined by five Times reporters, explores Sacks’ role in Donald Trump’s administration. It outlines his and his venture capital firm’s focus on artificial intelligence, pointing out that the policies he influences directly affect his investments, and that the public ethics filings he turned in for the White House job don’t offer full clarity on his divestments. 

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Sacks was an early executive at PayPal and founded and sold the communications startup Yammer. Now, he’s a podcast host and an investor at Craft Ventures, gigs he’s held on to while serving as Trump’s AI and crypto czar. As the Times reports, Sacks is using that position to “eliminate government obstacles facing A.I. companies” all while retaining hundreds of AI-related investments “directly or through Craft.” 

The story emphasizes Sacks’ relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. In another example, it reports that Sacks received a waiver allowing him not to divest from Palantir. The document said it isn’t an AI company but a software-as-a-service company, even as Palantir sells itself as offering “AI-Powered Automation for Every Decision.” The company is working closely with the Trump administration, including on contracts with the

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