He has actively participated in political funding and advocacy, contributing to various campaigns and organizations, and has been a vocal proponent of democratic institutions and humanism in technological innovation.

[5] Hoffman was an avid table-top role-playing gamer as a child[6] and worked as an editor at the game company Chaosium, then based in Oakland, California, near his home.

[27] In 2016, Reid Hoffman was among the first donors to OpenAI, a non-profit artificial intelligence research organization established by Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and others.

[30] With Hoffman’s help, OpenAI transitioned to a "capped-profit" model by establishing a for-profit subsidiary to attract investment while maintaining its commitment to ethical AI development.

CNBC reported that "Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Inflection will aim to develop AI software products that make it easier for humans to communicate with computers.

[35] In January 2025, Hoffman launched Manas AI, an AI-enabled drug discovery startup, together with cancer researcher Siddhartha Mukherjee, with about $25 million in initial funding.

“[G]eared towards public defenders,” the platform “stores, catalogs, analyzes and then shares video evidence, hoping to increase transparency around criminal matters.”[37] As of May 2023, Hoffman and Greylock Partners have invested in at least 37 AI companies.

[47][48] Since 2009, Hoffman has provided venture capital to dozens of businesses across industries, including consumer and transportation technology, finance, and artificial intelligence.

Examples include Airbnb, where he led the company’s Series A financing round, Aurora Innovation, Taptap Send, and Helion Energy.

[53][54][55][56] Hoffman has made multiple investments in transportation technology companies, including Aurora, Convoy, Nauto, Nuro, and Joby Aviation, among others.

[57][58] An early advocate for cryptocurrency,[59] Hoffman led Greylock's 2014 Series A financing round in Xapo, a company that developed a bitcoin wallet product.

[63][64] In 2023, Hoffman delivered the Commencement Speech at Bologna Business School, urging students to prepare for the transformative potential of AI as a tool for amplifying human creativity, collaboration, and progress.

[65] In 2024, Hoffman delivered a keynote lecture at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy,  balance progress and responsibility while shaping a future where technology amplifies human potential and interconnectedness.

Hoffman delivered a lecture at the LSE School of Public Policy focusing on the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on society, governance, and global dynamics.

It argues that previous career models of lifetime employment and free agency no longer work in a business world defined by continuous change.

[76] A Financial Times review was mixed, noting that those who aren't well-versed on the changing nature of the workplace may find the book useful, but readers looking for more surprising or in-depth insights will be disappointed.

The book offers a roadmap for how society can integrate AI inclusively and adaptively to improve our lives and create massive positive change.

The podcast is produced by WaitWhat, a media company led by former TED executives June Cohen and Deron Triff and hosted by Hoffman who interviews notable entrepreneurs and business and political leaders.

[108] In July 2024, the Washington Post reported that Hoffman had made a multimillion-dollar investment in the election technology company Smartmatic which is currently undertaking defamation action against several press outlets.

[109] Hoffman currently serves on the boards of Kiva.org (peer-to-peer microlending pioneer that allows people to lend money via the internet to low-income/underserved entrepreneurs and students),[110] Endeavor Global (an organization that finds and supports high-impact entrepreneurs in emerging markets),[111] and New America (a think tank that focuses on a range of public policy issues, including national security, technology, health, gender, education, and the economy).

[119] In November 2016, Hoffman and his wife, Michelle Yee, donated $20 million (equivalent to $24,900,000 in 2023) to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a charity dedicated to eradicating disease by 2100.

[123] Hoffman is one of the backers of the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund, a joint venture between the MIT Media Lab and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

[127] In 2018, Hoffman made a gift to the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information, to endow a chair "to study how the new era of artificial intelligence (AI) will affect our lives.

"[128] Since at least 2011, Hoffman has been a member and regular attendee of the Bilderberg Group, which gathers 120–150 North American and European "political leaders and experts from industry, finance, academia and the media"[129] for an annual invitation-only closed-door conference.

[140] In 2018, Hoffman helped fund Alloy, a company founded to legally exchange data with affiliated Democratic groups like super PACs.

Hoffman criticized Democratic donors who froze their campaign donations in the aftermath of Biden's performance at the June 2024 debate against Donald Trump.

[152] Hoffman stated in an interview his desire that a potential Harris administration remove Lina Khan as Federal Trade Commission chair.