---
alias:
- David O. Sacks
born: 1972-05-25
category: Technologists
created: 2026-06-18
location: Cape Town, South Africa (born)
summary: David Sacks is a South African-born American entrepreneur and political figure
  who served as chief operating officer of PayPal, founded Yammer, cohosted the All-In
  Podcast, and was appointed White House AI and cryptocurrency czar under the second
  Trump administration.
tags:
- Person
- DavidSacks
- PayPalMafia
- Yammer
- AllInPodcast
- Trump
- CryptoCzar
updated: 2026-06-18
---

[David Sacks](/people/david-sacks/) (born May 25, 1972, in Cape Town, [South Africa](/places/south-africa/)) is a [PayPal Mafia](/organizations/paypal-mafia/) principal who served as chief operating officer of PayPal, founded Yammer (the enterprise social network, acquired by Microsoft in 2012 for 1.2 billion dollars), produced the film *Thank You for Smoking* (2005), and was appointed Special Advisor on Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency (the "AI and crypto czar") under the second [Trump](/people/donald-trump/) administration. Sacks cohosted the All-In Podcast, which became a media channel for the PayPal Mafia cohort's political positions during the 2022-2025 period.[^1][^2]

### The PayPal COO Role and the Post-PayPal Ventures

Sacks served as chief operating officer at PayPal through the 2002 eBay acquisition, managing the company's operations alongside [Thiel](/people/peter-thiel/) (chief executive) and Levchin (chief technology officer). The COO role placed Sacks in operational control of the company's day-to-day execution during the period when the anti-fraud architecture was built and the PayPal Mafia cohort was formed. After the eBay sale, Sacks founded Yammer, the enterprise social network that applied consumer-social-networking patterns to corporate communications. Microsoft acquired Yammer in 2012.[^1]

Sacks subsequently founded Craft Ventures, a venture capital firm whose portfolio overlaps with the PayPal Mafia and Thiel-network commercial ecosystem. Sacks also produced the film *Thank You for Smoking* (2005), an adaptation of the Christopher Buckley satirical novel about tobacco-industry lobbying.[^1]

### The All-In Podcast and the Trump AI/Crypto Role

The All-In Podcast, cohosted by Sacks with [Chamath Palihapitiya](/people/chamath-palihapitiya/), Jason Calacanis, and David Friedberg, became a media channel for the PayPal Mafia cohort's political positions during the 2022-2025 period. The podcast's audience overlaps with the [Dialog](/organizations/dialog/) invitation list and the [Founders Fund](/organizations/founders-fund/) portfolio community. Sacks used the platform to advance the positions on AI regulation, cryptocurrency policy, and defense procurement that he subsequently entered the government to implement.[^2]

In the second Trump administration, Sacks received the Special Advisor on Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency appointment. The role covers federal AI policy, cryptocurrency regulation, and the broader technology-policy agenda. Sacks's appointment placed a PayPal Mafia principal in the executive branch with authority over the technology sectors that the Thiel-network commercial infrastructure operates in.[^2]

[^1]: For Sacks's PayPal COO role and the post-PayPal ventures, see the PayPal Mafia page and the contemporaneous Silicon Valley press.
[^2]: For the All-In Podcast and the Trump AI/crypto czar role, see the contemporaneous press coverage of the second Trump administration appointments.