Joe Lonsdale

Joe Lonsdale co-founded Palantir Technologies in 2003 alongside Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, and Nathan Gettings. After leaving Palantir, he founded 8VC, a San Francisco-based venture firm focused on technology and defence. Lonsdale is a Major donor in technology-sector political activity and holds stakes in firms across AI, defence, and healthcare. In 2026 he became one of the primary backers of Leading the Future, the super PAC that raised more than $125 million to defeat pro-regulation candidates in both parties in the 2026 US midterms. The PAC's fundraising surge came within ten days of the Hawley-Warner letter to federal agencies becoming public.

8VC's portfolio includes companies developing AI-enabled products across defence contracting, healthcare infrastructure, and financial services. Lonsdale has been publicly critical of government regulation of technology, arguing it hampers US competitiveness. His involvement in Leading the Future signals that the AI governance debate has moved from policy advocacy to direct electoral intervention, with the PAC explicitly targeting legislators who have pushed for AI workforce disclosure requirements rather than outright prohibition.

With total AI industry midterm spending approaching $150 million, the PAC's strategy is to deny measurement-focused legislators — not moratorium sponsors — the seats they need. The GZERO Media polling context makes this significant: 63% of Americans expect AI to reduce employment and only 26% view AI positively, yet the industry is outspending its own public on the electoral field where the data fight will be decided.