“A whole-of-government approach that collaborates closely with private industry is essential to winning the AI race, and a designated AI leader in the Administration can help do that,” Tony Samp, the head of AI policy at the law firm DLA Piper, tells TIME.

The tech investor made his money with early bets on Uber and other startups. He built his reputation as a conservative provocateur.

From his days at Stanford and PayPal with the likes of Elon Musk, David Sacks is another Silicon Valley conservative in Trump's new orbit.

President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Stanford alumnus and venture capitalist David Sacks as his “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar,” as Trump seeks to solidify his pro-crypto agenda.

David Sacks, a member of the PayPal Mafia and one of Silicon Valley’s most notable investors, bought Bitcoin in 2013 when it was trading for $130.

The former COO of PayPal is set to oversee the creation of a legal framework for the US crypto industry in a bid to improve its competitiveness.

David Sacks, President-elect Trump's pick for AI and crypto "czar," is a billionaire tech venture capitalist and podcaster who's a member of the so-called "PayPal Mafia."

Donald Trump says he is selecting venture capitalist David Sacks of Craft Ventures LLC to serve as his artificial intelligence and crypto czar, a newly created position that underscores the president-elect’s intent to boost two rapidly developing industries.

The second Trump administration is poised to be a powerful ally for the crypto industry. President-elect Donald Trump spoke highly of cryptocurrencies on the campaign trail, and his cabinet picks reflect that,

Not only is he a close friend of Elon Musk, who is leading a government efficiency committee for Trump, but Sacks has spent the last few years as one of the loudest voices supporting Trump from the upper echelons of Silicon Valley.