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.