Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, has chosen Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-American former venture capitalist, to serve as the senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence (AI) at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Krishnan, who previously worked as an aide to Elon Musk, will play a crucial role in shaping AI policy across the government and will work closely with the President’s council of advisors on science and technology. In a statement, Krishnan expressed his honor to serve the country and ensure continued American leadership in AI, while working closely with David Sacks. Prior to this appointment, Krishnan was involved in driving investments in consumer AI and crypto at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and engaged with global stakeholders on AI policy. He has also worked with major tech companies such as Twitter, Meta, and Snap. According to Trump’s announcement, Krishnan began his career as one of the founding members of Microsoft’s Windows Azure. Recently, Sacks was appointed as the first artificial intelligence and crypto czar of the United States. Both Sacks and Krishnan are expected to collaborate with Musk, who will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Trump administration. In 2022, Krishnan gained recognition for his work with Musk and Sacks on reshaping X following its acquisition. He also co-hosts The Aarthi and Sriram Show with his wife Aarthi Ramamurthy. Many prominent figures in the VC and AI communities, including Elon Musk, Marc Andreeson, Aravind Srinivas, Kevin Weil, and Andrew Ng, congratulated Krishnan on his new role. Ng, the co-founder of Coursera and DeepLearning.AI, praised Krishnan for his consistent thoughtfulness about AI policy and his focus on promoting open source. As an Indian-American immigrant, Krishnan has been vocal about the importance of highly skilled immigration into America. He completed his education in India, graduating in 2005 with a degree in IT from SRM Engineering College, Anna University, Tamil Nadu. Interestingly, Trump has also announced several other appointments, including Emil Michael, former Chief Business Officer at Uber, as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and Scott Kupor, former Managing Partner at a16z, as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management.
