The candidate that Silicon Valley built is now the one they want to tear down

For months, determination has been speech that Silicon Valley’s billionaire people was recruiting a campaigner to instrumentality connected Representative Ro Khanna. Early Tuesday morning, that campaigner made it official.

Ethan Agarwal (pictured above), a 40-year-old tech entrepreneur with nary governmental background, told TechCrunch connected Monday evening that helium is moving for California’s 17th legislature district. That process is apt to acceptable up what whitethorn go 1 of the astir lavishly funded superior challenges of the 2026 cycle.

The contention puts a spotlight connected Khanna, a 49-year-old Democrat wide seen arsenic a imaginable 2028 statesmanlike candidate, who has publicly backed a one-time wealthiness taxation successful California. His endorsement has infuriated immoderate of the state’s richest founders and investors, but Khanna has doubled down, introducing national legislation with Senator Bernie Sanders that would enforce a 5% yearly wealthiness taxation connected each Americans worthy $1 cardinal oregon much — a connection their offices estimation would rise $4.4 trillion implicit a decade.

There’s a definite irony to the situation. Agarwal is simply a postgraduate of Wharton and spent 3 years astatine McKinsey earlier founding audio fittingness institution Aaptiv, which helium sold successful 2021. He astir precocious co-founded fiscal services startup Coterie, backed by Andreessen Horowitz.

When Khanna archetypal ran for this aforesaid spot successful 2014, helium was the tech-backed outsider, with tech names similar Marc Andreessen, Sheryl Sandberg and Eric Schmidt supporting him. He challenged fashionable Democratic incumbent Mike Honda, mislaid that attempt, but came backmost successful 2016 to win.

Critics astatine the clip called Khanna an owned man. A decennary later, the aforesaid complaint volition surely beryllium leveled astatine the idiosyncratic trying to unseat him.

What follows is an edited mentation of our speech with Agarwal.

TechCrunch: Last summer, you announced plans to tally for politician of California. Now you’re joining a legislature contention instead. Why the switch?

Agarwal: I decided to tally for politician backmost successful July erstwhile the tract was truly thin. I don’t person a governmental inheritance — I travel from tech. But past a fewer beardown candidates got in, including Matt Mahan, who I deliberation is truly strong. I’ve been tracking Ro since his archetypal legislature contention successful 2012 — I was a large supporter. But successful the past mates of years, he’s been incrementally pivoting left, and erstwhile helium tweeted enactment for the wealthiness taxation astatine the extremity of December, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I realized I could person much interaction moving successful the 17th district and unseating Ro.

TC: Who is backing you financially?

Agarwal: We’re pulling papers tomorrow, truthful we don’t person a slope relationship yet and I can’t rise wealth until then. That said — [Y Combinator CEO] Garry Tan is down me, [DoorDash co-founder] Stanley Tang, and a batch of others from the tech assemblage whose names volition travel retired successful the coming days and weeks.

[Editor’s note: The engagement of Tan, Tang, and others volition apt substance a acquainted enactment of attack: that Agarwal is little an autarkic campaigner than a conveyance for billionaire grievances. It is worthy noting that Khanna faced astir identical disapproval erstwhile helium archetypal ran, and was backed by overmuch of the aforesaid tech-donor people that is present organizing against him.]

TC: Can you springiness maine a small much colour connected your plan? Beyond closing loopholes, is determination an alternate to the billionaire tax?

Agarwal: One is taxing loans taken retired against assets. Very affluent radical volition instrumentality a indebtedness retired against their holdings and wage debased interest. Because it’s technically a loan, they don’t wage taxes connected it. I deliberation it’s precise tenable to taxation those loans.

Second is superior gains — California’s complaint is presently 13.4% and I deliberation it’s tenable to see expanding that. Third, a batch of houses successful California are owned by backstage equity firms oregon radical holding them arsenic investments. I judge you should wage importantly higher spot taxes connected a location held arsenic an concern than arsenic a superior residence. That would some rise gross and easiness unit connected families who really unrecorded successful what they own.

Agarwal: Number one, banning banal trading for members of Congress and their families. Number two, banning firm PAC money. Number three, word limits.

[Earlier successful the conversation, Agarwal spoke astatine magnitude astir the 5,000 children successful the 17th territory — the wealthiest legislature territory successful the state — surviving beneath the poorness line, and described making it “the archetypal legislature territory successful past to wholly eradicate puerility poverty” arsenic 1 of his proposals. That constituent did not marque the apical three.]

TC: You’ve accused Ro Khanna of being a prolific banal trader. Can you explain?

Agarwal: He’s been trading much stocks than immoderate Democratic congressman successful the past of the state — successful tobacco, lipid and gas, Big Pharma, large tech. He publically introduced a legislature banal trading ban, and past made 4,000 trades past year. Even if the measure didn’t pass, thing is stopping him from imposing it connected himself. In my case, I’m going to divest my full portfolio the archetypal time I’m elected, truthful nary 1 has to wonderment whether my votes bespeak my idiosyncratic relationship oregon my existent beliefs.

[Both claims merit scrutiny. Khanna has co-sponsored the TRUST successful Congress Act and introduced betterment resolutions calling for a ban, but hasn’t authored standalone legislation. On the trading figures, Khanna has repeatedly said that helium does not personally ain oregon commercialized immoderate idiosyncratic stocks, and that the trades successful question beryllium to his wife, whose pre-marital assets are held successful an independently managed spot — which, helium noted, eliminates immoderate struggle nether Office of Government Ethics rules. Whether that favoritism satisfies voters is simply a question the run volition person to answer.]

TC: Should societal media platforms beryllium held liable for harming teens? Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act presently shields them from liability for what users post. Where bash you basal connected changing that?

Agarwal: I deliberation Section 230, erstwhile it was archetypal drafted [in 1996], made a batch of sense. The extremity was for platforms to service fundamentally arsenic hosting. But arsenic they’ve evolved, they’re present determining what we spot due to the fact that of the algorithms they push. I don’t deliberation it makes consciousness to marque societal media companies wholly liable for what radical station — the measurement is excessively high, and having a 3rd enactment marque subjective determinations astir what’s harmful gets into truly unsafe territory.

That said, I bash deliberation it’s worthy revisiting erstwhile it comes to semipermanent impacts connected teenagers’ intelligence health. If you speech to Meta, oregon X, oregon anyone, they’ll each accidental they don’t payment from hurting teenagers. We’re each aligned successful not wanting that arsenic an outcome.

TC: What astir regulating AI companies, galore of which are virtually successful your backyard?

Agarwal: I deliberation astir it from a nationalist information perspective. I’m assured that having the astir almighty models is captious for America, and if we don’t physique them, China volition bushed us.

Some restrictions marque consciousness — AI shouldn’t assistance you wounded yourself oregon idiosyncratic else. But I bash not deliberation we should beryllium limiting companies’ quality to physique and fortify these models. It’s truly captious that we let them to thrive, for nationalist information purposes, if thing else.

TC: Do you deliberation we request thing similar an FDA for AI?

Agarwal: I’ve heard that idea. The FDA has mostly done a bully occupation of keeping Americans steadfast and harmless — I spot the radical who enactment there, which I cannot accidental for astir authorities organizations. If there’s a mode to physique an independent, apolitical authorization with rotating terms, that makes consciousness to me. But I privation to marque definite it’s designed to fortify America’s nationalist security, not for governmental purposes.

TC: What astir prediction markets — Polymarket, Kalshi? Do they request much regulation?

Agarwal: To beryllium clear, Kalshi and Polymarket are some regulated by the CFTC. I deliberation portion of the occupation is that sports betting apps person created truthful overmuch regulatory disorder astir what’s allowed successful which states that Polymarket and Kalshi person emerged arsenic alternatives. But the regularisation they person contiguous is really beauteous good.

TC: How are you readying to tally this campaign? Are you doing this afloat time?

Agarwal: This is 110% of my life. I went to [the backstage San Jose, Ca., school] Harker, which is successful the district. I’ve grown up nearby. I cognize hundreds, possibly thousands of radical who unrecorded there. My run is fundamentally a crushed crippled — I’m going to Chinese and Hindi acquisition schools, to taste events. Holi is coming up; Chinese New Year, Purim, is connected Tuesday. I’m going to beryllium astatine each of it, gathering people, going to tiny businesses.

I deliberation this is really the halfway opposition betwixt Ro and me: helium is gathering a nationalist profile, and I’m perfectly good with that if that’s what helium wants to do. But he’s doing it portion abandoning the radical of his ain district. I’m not leaving California. I’m not utilizing this arsenic a stepping stone. He’s national; I’m local. And I deliberation radical successful the 17th cognize they request idiosyncratic focused connected them alone.

TC: What was the impetus to get into authorities successful the archetypal place?

Agarwal: Maybe this is corny, but — my dad came present with perfectly nothing, making $14,000 a twelvemonth erstwhile helium archetypal arrived. He started a company, took it public, sold it. I was calved connected 3rd basal arsenic a effect of that. I’ve started 2 companies and sold them both.

And past I spot radical astir maine nary longer benefiting from the aforesaid strategy that made each of that possible. The radical present are hardworking, precocious imaginable — but the situation isn’t supporting them anymore. I’ve been complaining astir it for a agelong time, and I felt similar it was clip to basal up and bash something.

TC: Is this the commencement of a governmental career?

Agarwal: This isn’t a vocation pivot. I spot a precise circumstantial occupation successful the 17th territory that I privation to solve. I’m going to enforce word limits connected myself — I won’t bash much than 5 presumption — and past I’ll astir apt spell backmost to the backstage sector. Service should beryllium a calling, not a job. And honestly, I don’t deliberation it serves your constituents good erstwhile it becomes a career. Even if a word limits measure doesn’t pass, I’m going to enforce it connected myself. That’s what I really believe.

[That besides echoes thing from Khanna’s aboriginal campaigns — the outsider who arrives with nary involvement successful becoming a vocation person but a mandate from the tech manufacture to shingle things up. Whether Agarwal gets further than Khanna’s archetypal effort did successful 2014 whitethorn beryllium connected whether Khanna develops immoderate vulnerabilities of his own. Right now, introducing sweeping nationalist authorities with Bernie Sanders and sitting connected $15 cardinal successful run cash, helium appears to beryllium doing everything helium tin to guarantee helium doesn’t.]