Over 100 Silicon Valley investors have vowed to support Kamala Harris.
The current vice president of the United States is actively campaigning to win over voters and secure the Democratic nomination in the upcoming 2024 presidential race, where she will face off against Donald Trump.
She recently had her first rally in Atlanta, GA, and is preparing for a second one in Philadelphia, PA, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024.
“Donald, I do hope you’ll reconsider meeting me on the debate stage. Because, as the saying goes, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face,” she said in front of an energized crowd in Atlanta.
Support From Interested Voters
Harris has received an influx of support since she announced her quest for presidency. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Harris raised $200 million in just seven days. What’s more, 66% of the donations were provided by first-time contributors.
Harris also raised the most ever in a 24-hour period for either party, Democratic and Republican, earning $81 million, AP News reports.
Support From Silicon Valley
Harris support has also hit California’s Silicon Valley. In fact, over 100 venture capitalists and tech executives have pledged to vote for her in November and have already solicited donations for her campaign, The New York Times mentions.
“We the undersigned are Venture Capital investors, founders and tech leaders who pledge to vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election,” a statement on VCsForKamala.org reads. “We spend our days looking for, investing in and supporting entrepreneurs who are building the future. We are pro-business, pro-American dream, pro-entrepreneurship, and pro-technological progress.”
It continued, “We also believe in democracy as the backbone of our nation. We believe that strong, trustworthy institutions are a feature, not a bug, and that our industry – and every other industry – would collapse without them. That is what’s at stake in this election. Everything else, we can solve through constructive dialogue with political leaders and institutions willing to talk to us. In this pivotal moment, we are united in our support for Vice President Kamala Harris. We invite you to join us.”
Investors involved in the pledge include Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn; Mark Cuban, founder of Mark Cuban Companies and former principal owner of the Dallas Mavericks; Vinod Khosla, founder and partner of Khosla Ventures; Ron Conway, managing partner of SV Angel; Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner of Collab Capital; Barbara Iyayi, founder and managing partner of Unicorn Growth Capital; and Stephen DeBerry, managing partner of BRONZE, among others.
“…There was a lot of women, particularly Black Women VCs, behind organizing this effort. I’m proud to serve and organize with them as well our male colleagues. We understand the assignment,” Erika Lucas, founder and general partner of VEST Her Ventures, said on LinkedIn. She is also listed on VCsForKamala.org as a volunteer.
The investors’ support for Harris follows a clear divide among some investors and tech executives. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has used the X platform, which he acquired, to promote material that appears to mock Harris. Most recently he shared a fake AI-generated campaign video featuring Harris that labeled her as the “ultimate diversity hire.”
“I Kamala Harris, am your Democrat candidate for President because Joe Biden finally exposed his senility at the debate, thanks Joe. I was selected because I am the ultimate diversity hire,” she appeared to say in the video clip. “I’m both a woman and a person of color. So, if you criticize anything I say you’re both sexist and racist. I may not know the first thing about running the country, but remember that’s a good thing if you’re a deep state puppet.”
Must accompanied the video with a post stating, “This is amazing.”
That post has been viewed over 133 million times and has received more than 936,000 likes (at the time of this writing). Musk is also looking to donate millions to support America PAC, which is pro-Trump, CNBC mentions. Sequoia Capital’s Shaun Maguire and 8VC’s Joe Lonsdale plan to follow suit in the support of Trump.
“They don’t speak for me,” said Leslie Feinzaig, a managing director of the venture firm Graham & Walker and a primary organizer of VCsForKamala, referring to Musk and others, according to The New York Times. “They don’t speak for most of us. And they don’t speak for the founders.”
