Indian-origin Sriram Krishnan appointed senior AI adviser to Trump

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has announced induction of Indian American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author Sriram Krishnan as the senior White House policy adviser on artificial intelligence on Monday.

“Sriram Krishnan will serve as the Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House of Science and Technology Policy,” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social.

“Working closely with David Sacks, Sriram will focus on ensuring continued American leadership in AI and help shape and coordinate AI policy across government including working with the President’s council of advisors on Science and Technology. Sriram started his career at Microsoft as a founding member of Windows Azure,” he added.

“I'm honoured to be able to serve our country and ensure continued American leadership in AI working closely with David Sacks,” posted Sriram Krishnan on X.

Who is Krishnan?

Born in Chennai, Sriram Krishnan completed his bachelor’s in information technology (B. Tech) at SRM Engineering College, Anna University, graduating in 2005.

Krishnan began his career at Microsoft, later joined Facebook, Snap Inc., Twitter, holding key leadership roles at each company. At Facebook, Krishnan spearheaded the development of the Facebook Audience Network, which became a major competitor to Google’s advertising technologies.

In February 2021, Krishnan was appointed General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm, focusing on investments in Web3 and AI technologies. By 2023, he was chosen to lead the firm’s London office, a16z’s first location outside the United States. According to his LinkedIn profile, Krishnan announced that he left the firm in December 2024.

As an angel investor, he has backed over two dozen companies, including Musk-owned SpaceX, Figma, and Scale.ai.

Outside of his professional endeavours, Krishnan co-hosts The Aarthi and Sriram Show with his wife, Aarthi Ramamurthy. The podcast, featuring high-profile guests such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, has garnered millions of downloads, earning the couple recognition as a “tech power duo.”

Krishnan becomes the sixth member of the Indian diaspora to join the Trump cabinet. Notable appointees include Vivek Ramaswamy, heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE); Tulsi Gabbard, serving as Director of National Intelligence; Harmeet Dhillon; and Kashyap Patel, who leads the FBI. With Usha Vance assuming the role of Second Lady of the United States, the count rises to seven.

Trump administration goes all-in on AI and crypto

On December 5, Trump appointed former PayPal COO David Sacks as the "White House AI & Crypto Czar," tasked with creating a legal framework to provide clarity for the crypto industry. Announcing the news on Truth Social, Trump did not clarify whether "czar" was an official title. This marks the establishment of US’ first AI and Crypto Council under the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

In a congratulatory reply to Krishnan on X, Sacks wrote, "It was a lot of fun to work with you during the Twitter transition, and I look forward to doing it again in President Trump’s administration."

Interestingly, both David Sacks and Krishnan have worked during the Twitter transition following the acquisition by Musk who also holds key office of DOGE in Trump’s administration.

This month also saw other key appointments to the Trump cabinet, including Michael Kratsios as Director of the White House OSTP, a position once led by Indian-origin Arati Prabhakar during the Biden administration, Dr. Lynne Parker as Executive Director of the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), and Bo Hines as Executive Director of the newly created Presidential Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, also known as the "Crypto Council."