Michael Kratsios has seen the AI boom from both sides: as COO of Scale AI and inside the White House. Today, as the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, he helps shape America’s national strategy on AI, science, and emerging technology.
At Startup School 2026, he sat down with YC’s head of public policy, Luther Lowe, to talk about how Washington makes technology policy, why the White House supports open-source AI, and why little tech needs a seat at the table.
Transcript:
Apply to Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply
Work at a startup: https://www.ycombinator.com/jobs
Chapters:
00:00 — Michael Kratsios on AI Policy and Public Service
02:38 — From Tech to the White House
04:39 — How Technology Policy Actually Gets Made
05:51 — The White House on Open Source AI
08:28 — How Washington Sees AI Differently
09:53 — Regulating a Technology That Changes Every Six Months
11:37 — Which AI Risks Are Overblown?
13:03 — Giving Little Tech a Seat at the Table
17:31 — Regulation Without Creating Incumbent Moats
18:01 — Born Free vs. Born in Captivity Technologies
20:46 — What Working in the White House Is Actually Like
25:56 — A New Golden Age of American Science
31:32 — Quantum, Congress, IP, and What Comes Next
37:54 — Why Technologists Should Consider Public Service
