Michael Kratsios, former chief of staff to Peter Thiel at Thiel Capital, was confirmed as the 13th Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on March 25, 2025, by a 74-25 Senate vote. At the time, he was the youngest person ever to hold the position and the first OSTP director without a PhD.
Kratsios's career is a textbook illustration of the Thiel-network pipeline into government. He began as a principal at Thiel Capital and chief of staff to Peter Thiel himself before entering government during Trump's first term as deputy assistant to the president for technology policy, then U.S. Chief Technology Officer, and acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Between administrations, he served as managing director at Scale AI, a company deeply embedded in defense and AI contracting.
As OSTP Director, Kratsios serves as the president's top science and technology advisor, shaping AI policy, research funding priorities, and technology regulation. The position gives him direct influence over policies that affect Thiel-backed companies across the defense-tech and AI sectors. His trajectory -- from Thiel's personal staff to the highest science policy position in government -- exemplifies how the Thiel network converts personal loyalty into institutional control over the regulatory environment that governs their commercial interests.