David Sacks says AI drove 75% of Q1 GDP growth

David sacks said artificial intelligence was already doing most of the work behind U.S. growth. In a post published Sunday, the venture capitalist and former Trump top crypto and AI advisor wrote that AI made up 75% of GDP growth in Q1.

He paired that claim with a sharper warning: “At this point, stopping progress in AI would be equivalent to halting the U.S. economy.” The remark turns AI from a sector story into a macroeconomic argument, and it lands while business spending, not just consumer demand, is carrying a larger share of growth.

AI and Q1 growth

Sacks also wrote, “In Q1, AI was already 75% of GDP growth. That trend is likely to continue.” He added, “Technology leadership has always been America’s great strength, and it’s driving the economy forward.”

The claim points readers to where the money is actually going. The biggest categories receiving business investment last quarter were technical equipment such as computers and intellectual property products including software, while investment in information processing, equipment, software, and research and development totaled 1.52 percentage points of overall GDP growth.

Business spending drives GDP

The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that consumer spending accounted for 68.1% of GDP last week. Consumer spending added 1.08 percentage points to GDP growth last quarter.

Business investment added 1.48 percentage points to GDP growth last quarter. Overall GDP growth last quarter was 2%.

Sacks after March exit

Sacks stepped down in March as Trump’s top crypto and AI advisor. He had helped spearhead the administration’s AI Action Plan, which called for fast-tracked AI development and rapid infrastructure build-out.

That leaves one practical question for readers watching the policy debate: whether the growth Sacks is describing translates into a sustained investment cycle, or whether the AI share of GDP growth cools once companies slow spending on computers, software, and research and development.