The candidate that Silicon Valley built is now the one they want to tear down

For months, there has been talk that Silicon Valley’s billionaire class was recruiting a candidate to take on Representative Ro Khanna. Early Tuesday morning, that candidate made it official. Ethan Agarwal (pictured above), a 40-year-old tech entrepreneur with no political background, told TechCrunch on Monday evening that he is running for California’s 17th congressional district. That process is likely to set up what may become one of the most lavishly funded primary challenges of the 2026 cycle. The race puts a spotlight on Khanna, a 49-year-old Democrat widely seen as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, who has publicly backed a one-time wealth tax in California. His endorsement has infuriated some of the state’s richest founders and investors, but Khanna has doubled down, introducing national legislation with Senator Bernie Sanders that would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on all Americans worth $1 billion or more — a proposal their offices estimate would raise $4.4 trillion over a decade. There’s a certain irony to the situation. Agarwal is a graduate of Wharton and spent three years at McKinsey before founding audio fitness company Aaptiv, which he sold in 2021. He most recently co-founded financial services startup Coterie, backed by Andreessen Horowitz. When Khanna first ran for this same seat in 2014, he was the tech-backed outsider, with tech names like Marc Andreessen, Sheryl Sandberg and Eric Schmidt supporting him. He challenged popular Democratic incumbent Mike Honda, lost that attempt, but came back in 2016 to win. Critics at the time called Khanna an owned man. A decade later, the same charge will surely be leveled at the person trying to unseat him. What follows is an edited version of our conversation with Agarwal. Techcrunch event Disrupt 2026: The tech ecosystem, all in one room Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for th...