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Vinod Khosla Says Silicon Valley Embraced Trump 'Out of Convenience,' Calls for Taxing Capital Like Wages

July 13, 2026 at 17:33 EDT

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Policy & Regulation
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Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, one of OpenAI's earliest backers, said in a wide-ranging interview that Silicon Valley has embraced President Trump "out of convenience" rather than conviction, while arguing that the AI era demands a sharp rethink of how the U.S. taxes capital versus labor.

The WSJ Money Interview · Vinod Khosla

Silicon Valley embraced Trump "out of convenience," says an early OpenAI backer

Khosla Ventures' founder — the first outside investor in OpenAI — argues the tech industry's turn toward Washington is pragmatic, not principled, and that the AI era demands taxing capital more like labor.

$50M

First outside venture check into OpenAI, in 2019

~5%

Stake secured — now estimated worth billions

$200B

India IT-services sector he flags as exposed to AI

A $50M bet, now worth billions

$50M

2019 investment

$ billions

Estimated today

A textbook case of high-risk, high-reward early-stage AI investing.

The tax argument

"As AI concentrates value in capital, the tax system must tilt back toward labor."

SUPPORTS

Tax capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income.

OPPOSES

A wealth tax — calls it a "dumb idea"; taxing income ≠ taxing assets.

Read as candor

A capitalist advocating redistribution that would hit his own class — and an honest read of business and political pragmatism.

Read as oversimplification

Critics say "convenience" understates a genuine ideological shift within parts of the tech elite.

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