Donald Trump traveled to Silicon Valley Thursday night and raised a reported $12 million from tech executives, a notable foray into a longtime Democratic stronghold.
The event, co-hosted by billionaire investor David O. Sacks and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, capped a wave of new Trump inroads with wealthy donors from the worlds of tech, crypto, and Wall Street.
"The Blue Wall of Tech has been breached," Messari CEO Ryan Selkis posted after attending the event.
Selkis, who co-founded his crypto market intelligence firm, was among those who reportedly paid between $50,000 and $500,000 for tickets to attend the event at Sacks's home.
"Electric event!" Selkis added alongside a picture of himself with the former president.
Harmeet Dhillon, the former vice chairwoman of the California Republican Party, posted pictures of the event and said the fundraiser had met expectations by raising $12 million because of the support from tech.
Indeed, the presence of crypto leaders — after three years of tense relations between Biden and the sector — was notable. The New York Times reported that both Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss were in attendance and earned a shoutout from Trump.
Biden has his own supporters in Silicon Valley. During a recent stop in the Bay Area, the president raised money at an event co-hosted by Marissa Mayer, the former CEO of Yahoo.
Another stop, according to pool reports, was at the home of Jon Shirley, the former president of Microsoft (MSFT).
'An A/B test'
The main organizer of this week's event, Sacks, also posted an essay Thursday night formally endorsing Trump and reiterated his reasons for getting behind the former president, charging Biden with failing on the economy and allowing politicized prosecutions.
He said voters would be able to compare Trump and Biden’s time in office side by side, adding: "In tech, we call this an A/B test."
Sacks is a close political ally of Sen. J.D. Vance, a Republican of Ohio, who once worked in Silicon Valley and now has emerged as a crucial conduit between Trump's campaign and these big-time donors.
Other billionaires who were not in attendance Thursday night but have been expressing more and more openness to Trump reposted the essay from Sacks in positive terms.
"Thoughtful," said Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk.
Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman added that he agreed with "most but not all" of Sacks's reasons for supporting Trump.
Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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