TL;DR
White House AI adviser Sriram Krishnan is leaving at the end of June. He plans to start an outside institution to continue influencing AI policy.
Sriram Krishnan, the White House’s senior policy adviser on artificial intelligence, is stepping down. The former Andreessen Horowitz partner was tapped by President Donald Trump to help shape the administration’s AI strategy during his second term. He will leave at the end of June, according to the Washington Post.
Krishnan played a central role in the administration’s AI action plan. In May, he helped broker an agreement with Google, Microsoft, and xAI to give the US government early access to their AI models before public release. The arrangement lets the government assess capabilities and security risks during a 30-day review window.
White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks credited Krishnan with work on “policy initiatives and international diplomacy” as part of efforts to ensure “American AI dominance.” White House spokesperson Kush Desai called him “a critical asset for President Trump’s push to cement American dominance in technology and innovation.”
Krishnan said he plans to continue working with the White House as an outside adviser. He is reportedly starting a new institution focused on AI policy. “After a break, I’ll be working on helping tackle some of the large challenges facing America on AI,” he wrote on X.
The departure follows a busy stretch of AI policymaking. On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order outlining a voluntary framework for cybersecurity threats posed by AI, stopping short of mandatory testing. On Friday, he directed national security agencies to work with more than one AI provider, a move that followed the Pentagon’s feud with Anthropic over contract terms.
Anthropic had been the only vendor approved for classified military use until the Defence Department blacklisted it as a supply chain risk after the company refused to allow its models to be used for autonomous weapons or mass surveillance. The administration has since signed classified AI deals with Nvidia, Microsoft, and AWS.
Krishnan’s exit also raises questions about Andreessen Horowitz’s influence on AI policy. The firm has been a significant force in shaping the administration’s approach, with Bloomberg previously reporting on its rising role in Trump-era AI decisions. Whether Krishnan’s new institution maintains that pipeline remains to be seen.
