Trump-backing venture capitalist meets Luxon in NZ visit

The co-founder of one of the world’s largest venture capital firms has met Prime Minister Christopher Luxon during a New Zealand visit, sparking speculation about potential investments in the country.
Experts say heightened interest from outside firms is a reflection of New Zealand’s stable environment and growing opportunities – as well as word of mouth from other tech titans who already enjoy close ties with Aotearoa.
Luxon’s ministerial diary shows he met Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz in his ninth-floor Beehive office on July 30.
Andreessen Horowitz is one of the world’s largest venture capital firms – if not the largest – with $69 billion in assets under management.
The firm was an early investor in Airbnb and Slack, and it is also a major investor in OpenAI, and describes itself as an advocate for ‘Little Tech’ (its term for tech startups). 
“There is no reason American technology, economic, and military leadership cannot continue for decades to come,” the company declares on its website.
Exactly what Horowitz discussed with Luxon, and the broader purpose of his trip to New Zealand, remains unclear. Horowitz did not respond to an email from Newsroom asking questions about the visit, and the Prime Minister’s office gave little away.
In a statement, Luxon told Newsroom: “I met with Mr Horowitz at his request on July 30. As part of my plan to rebuild the economy, I frequently meet with a range of international investors at home and abroad to make sure they are aware of the opportunities in New Zealand.”
Bell Gully partner Dean Oppenhuis told Newsroom any interest in New Zealand from US venture capital firms was an exciting development given offshore interest came primarily from Australia, although he didn’t know the specifics of Andreessen Horowitz’s interest.
Oppenhuis said the success of New Zealand accounting software firm Xero had led to more interest from overseas. Though some venture capital firms had previously required New Zealand companies to “flip their jurisdiction” to the US and become incorporated there, that was no longer as common because of increased trust.
There were also new areas of growth for venture capital firms to look at, such as the emerging space technology sector.
Icehouse Venture chief executive Robbie Paul told Newsroom any interest in New Zealand from Andreessen Horowitz was welcome given its status as “one of the most highly regarded firms in the world”. 
Paul said there had been an encouraging pattern of Silicon Valley venture capitalists looking to New Zealand, with Khosla Ventures – founded by the American entrepreneur Vinod Khosla – having earlier blazed a trail through investments in Rocket Lab and LanzaTech.
New Zealand’s status as an English-speaking, politically stable democracy held appeal, and there was not the “glut of capital” seen in more mature markets, creating a more favourable environment for investors.
Founders Fund, the creation of (among others) PayPal co-founder and notorious New Zealand citizen Peter Thiel, had also made significant investments in the country, Paul said.
“I wouldn’t understate how many of the sort of upper echelon of Silicon Valley have a presence in New Zealand and come and go, and that’s a real blessing for the New Zealand venture ecosystem.”
Like Thiel, Horowitz is one of a growing number of Silicon Valley figures throwing their weight behind Trump.
In July – two weeks before Horowitz’s meeting with Luxon – he and Andreessen announced they would back the former president’s re-election bid, citing his support of cryptocurrencies and the technology sector. “The future of our business, the future of technology … and the future of America is literally at stake,” Horowitz said in an episode of the pair’s podcast.
The announcement came days before US President Joe Biden abandoned his re-election bid, but the pair have shown no public signs of a change of heart under new Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
Andreessen and Horowitz have also given $71 million to Fairshake, a pro-crypto super PAC (political action committee) making donations to candidates who back the industry and paying for attack ads against those it perceives as hostile to crypto.
CNBC reported the super PAC had backed the winning candidate in 33 of the 35 House and Senate primary races it had entered, with previous crypto sceptics seeming to shift their attitudes in the face of tough re-election fights.