Mike Solana

Mike Solana
Mike Solana
	Solana in 2025
Education	Boston University (BA)
Organizations	Founders Fund; Pirate Wires;

Michael Solana is an American writer and conservative commentator. He is the chief marketing officer of the venture capital firm Founders Fund and the founder of media company Pirate Wires.

Early life and education

Solana attended Boston University, graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Solana said he had been interested in libertarianism since high school, but briefly embraced left-wing policies during college before becoming an anarcho-capitalist.

Career

Solana is the chief marketing officer and vice president at Founders Fund, a venture capital firm founded by Peter Thiel. He is a founder and host of Hereticon, a conference for discussing ideas outside the mainstream.

Solana is a frequent commentator on San Francisco's and California's governance, criticizing the city's alleged leniency on crime. Solana has criticized the political strategy of the abundance movement associated with Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's 2025 book, arguing that its Democratic proponents would struggle to win over what he called the "Luigi Left".

In the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, an editorial in The Wall Street Journal referenced Solana's comments about the "challenge that moderate Democrats face in trying to persuade the extremists in their political coalition to appreciate the virtues of liberty and open debate".

Pirate Wires

In 2020, Solana founded Pirate Wires, a newsletter-turned-website focused on technology. In "Extract or Die", Solana argued that San Francisco's government was mismanaging the city and that the city would be better run by tech entrepreneurs. An October 2024 profile in The Atlantic described Solana as "The most opinionated man in America" for his writings in Pirate Wires. The blog was described by Jeffrey Goldberg as providing a "really good insight into MAGA thinking in the Silicon Valley, people who are supporting Donald Trump".

Personal life

Solana lives in Miami, Florida. He is openly gay.

Publications

Citizen Sim: Cradle of the Stars (2014)

Notes

1 2 ”At Boston University, Solana grew irritated watching other kids coast. ‘I used to wreck people in class,’ he said. This was his Marxist phase. Solana explains himself during that period as “a boy who realized he wanted to date other boys in the Bush years and needed a place to go where people said, There’s nothing wrong with you.” But then one day in class, he was arguing against property rights when he realized that he didn’t believe what he was saying. He turned back to libertarianism.”

References

↑ Maitra, Sumantra (February 21, 2025). "'The Thought of American Greatness'". The American Conservative.
↑ Goode, Lauren (June 5, 2025). "Silicon Valley Is Starting to Pick Sides in Musk and Trump's Breakup". Wired Magazine. ISSN 1059-1028.
↑ "Michael Solana - Chief Executive Officer at Pirate Wires". THE ORG. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
1 2 Suderman, Peter (May 15, 2022). "Mike Solana Wants You To Commit Thoughtcrimes". Reason Magazine.
1 2 3 4 Beam, Christopher (October 25, 2024). "The Most Opinionated Man in America". The Atlantic.
↑ Ferguson, Niall (July 4, 2025). "AI's great brain robbery — and how universities can fight back". The Times.
↑ Truong, Kevin (April 2, 2024). "Tech bosses slam law that would stop them bothering you after work". San Francisco Standard.
↑ Schneider, Benjamin (June 3, 2021). "The End of the End of San Francisco". SF Weekly.
↑ Bellafiore, Robert; Askonas, Jon (July 24, 2024). "Tech for Trump". City Journal.
↑ Solana, Mike (September 8, 2025). "The Abundance Delusion". The Atlantic.
↑ Freeman, James (September 11, 2025). "The Courage America Needs Now". The Wall Street Journal.
↑ Bernard, Zoë (July 30, 2024). "Tech elites hate the media. So they're taking a page from Fox News". Business Insider.
↑ "Washington Week with The Atlantic full episode, 11/15/24". Washington Week. November 15, 2024.
↑ Bernard, Zoe (February 19, 2026). "Inside the Gay Tech Mafia". WIRED.
↑ Solana, Michael (August 14, 2014). "Stop Writing Dystopian Sci-Fi—It's Making Us All Fear Technology". Wired Magazine. ISSN 1059-1028.

[At_Boston_University-4] 1 2 ”At Boston University, Solana grew irritated watching other kids coast. ‘I used to wreck people in class,’ he said. This was his Marxist phase. Solana explains himself during that period as “a boy who realized he wanted to date other boys in the Bush years and needed a place to go where people said, There’s nothing wrong with you.” But then one day in class, he was arguing against property rights when he realized that he didn’t believe what he was saying. He turned back to libertarianism.”

[:0-1] Maitra, Sumantra (February 21, 2025). "'The Thought of American Greatness'". The American Conservative.

[2] Goode, Lauren (June 5, 2025). "Silicon Valley Is Starting to Pick Sides in Musk and Trump's Breakup". Wired Magazine. ISSN 1059-1028.

[3] "Michael Solana - Chief Executive Officer at Pirate Wires". THE ORG. Retrieved September 11, 2025.

[:1-5] 1 2 Suderman, Peter (May 15, 2022). "Mike Solana Wants You To Commit Thoughtcrimes". Reason Magazine.

[auto-6] 1 2 3 4 Beam, Christopher (October 25, 2024). "The Most Opinionated Man in America". The Atlantic.

[7] Ferguson, Niall (July 4, 2025). "AI's great brain robbery — and how universities can fight back". The Times.

[8] Truong, Kevin (April 2, 2024). "Tech bosses slam law that would stop them bothering you after work". San Francisco Standard.

[9] Schneider, Benjamin (June 3, 2021). "The End of the End of San Francisco". SF Weekly.

[10] Bellafiore, Robert; Askonas, Jon (July 24, 2024). "Tech for Trump". City Journal.

[11] Solana, Mike (September 8, 2025). "The Abundance Delusion". The Atlantic.

[12] Freeman, James (September 11, 2025). "The Courage America Needs Now". The Wall Street Journal.

[13] Bernard, Zoë (July 30, 2024). "Tech elites hate the media. So they're taking a page from Fox News". Business Insider.

[14] "Washington Week with The Atlantic full episode, 11/15/24". Washington Week. November 15, 2024.

[15] Bernard, Zoe (February 19, 2026). "Inside the Gay Tech Mafia". WIRED.

[16] Solana, Michael (August 14, 2014). "Stop Writing Dystopian Sci-Fi—It's Making Us All Fear Technology". Wired Magazine. ISSN 1059-1028.