Welcome To Politico Pro Technology: California Decoded

Dear Reader,

Never before have the technology industry and its key characters wielded such tremendous influence in American policy and politics. It's one of the most important national political narratives right now — as Elon Musk and others try to remake the federal government — but it's also a uniquely California story.

The state has long been the key birthing place not just for tech policy trends and innovation, but also for the policy and political debates and emerging leaders that come from them.

It's also a POLITICO story. Welcome to POLITICO's California Decoded, a daily newsletter that will explain how the Golden State is defining technology policy and politics within its borders and beyond. Sign up here to subscribe.

Expect to read about AI regulations coming out of Sacramento, but also learn about the complex politics and labor dynamics around tech in California. Since emerging technologies — and the people who shape them — have cross-sector implications, the coverage will add value to other key policy beats from health care and energy to the economy and education. We will connect the dots on tech policy and politics both in California and as a through line to Washington, London and Brussels.

POLITICO’s new California technology reporting team will deliver distinctive reporting from the state long home to both the world’s most successful startups and some of its most ambitious elected officials — a dynamic that regularly creates battles between high-profile figures like Musk and Gov. Gavin Newsom with both statewide and national implications.

Our character-focused coverage will tell readers what they need to know about how industry players in Silicon Valley are trying to influence state and national lawmakers — and how government officials are encouraging or foiling those figures.

We’re offering a limited, free trial of the newsletter — packed with sharp analysis, scoops and forward-looking insights from Silicon Valley to Sacramento to Los Angeles. After that period the newsletter will only be available to POLITICO Pro subscribers, who can visit their newsletter selections page on Pro and select Technology: California Decoded.

In April we’ll be unveiling a list of the top 20 most influential people in California tech at an invitation-only party in San Francisco. Want to nominate some for the list? Email names plus story ideas, questions and tips to CaliforniaDecoded@politico.com.

Thank you,

The California Decoded team