MILWAUKEE, July 16 (Reuters) -

Donald Trump's choice of J.D. Vance for a running mate

raised the hopes of Silicon Valley conservatives on Tuesday that

they stand to gain having a fellow "tech bro" within reach of

the White House for the first time.

"WE HAVE A FORMER TECH VC IN THE WHITE HOUSE. GREATEST

COUNTRY ON EARTH BABY," Delian Asparouhov, a partner at

billionaire investor Peter Thiel's venture capital firm Founders

Fund, wrote on social media site X.

Author of the bestselling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," a

graduate of Yale Law School and later a venture capitalist in

San Francisco, Vance has had a rapid ascent for American

politics.

At 39, he has served but two years in the U.S. Senate

representing the state of Ohio.

The Republican National Convention on Monday formally

nominated Trump and Vance as their ticket in the Nov. 5 election

to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President

Kamala Harris.

Some right-leaning investors began re-circulating old tweets

of Vance's and set their sights on friendlier regulations

ranging from artificial intelligence to cryptocurrency.

"He has a direct line to some important influencers as he's

evaluating or thinking through some of the policy around tech,"

said Matt Murphy, a partner at venture capital firm Menlo

Ventures, noting the traditional gap between Washington and

Silicon Valley.

On the campaign trail, Vance has used his background to

serve as a bridge between Trump associates and wealthy Silicon

Valley donors, many of whom have opened their wallets to Trump

this election.

Republicans comprise a minority in the overwhelmingly

left-leaning San Francisco Bay Area, although conservatives in

the tech industry, including Thiel, venture capitalist Marc

Andreessen and entrepreneur Elon Musk, have begun to raise their

voices more.

Buoyed by the promise of technology, they complain about

what they view as unnecessary constraints placed on their

businesses by progressive politicians and employees.

Vance has ridden that wave, aided by Thiel, who poured some

$15 million into Vance's successful U.S. Senate campaign in 2022

and invested in the VC firm Narya that he founded in 2019.

Silicon Valley conservatives say they see Vance as one of

their own even when they differ on some policies.

Despite his background, Vance has said that large tech

companies have too much influence and called for Google

to be broken up, positions at odds with conservatives

who chafe at government regulation.

Venture capitalist and crypto investor Tim Draper, who

backed former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in the

Republican primary, said he was hopeful Vance "is more VC than

lawyer."

"A good understanding of the way freedom and startups drive

growth in our economy is critical for the continued success of

the Silicon Valley, our nation's 'golden goose,'" Draper said.

Draper saw Vance's crypto investments as a sign that he

"probably groks (intuitively understands) the economy of the

future to some degree," he said, using a term popular in tech

circles. Grok is also the name of the ChatGPT challenger from

Musk's startup xAI.

Vance held more than $100,000 in Bitcoin as of 2022,

according to his federal disclosure from October 2023.

The Trump-Vance campaign did not immediately respond to a

request for comment on Vance's ties to Silicon Valley, his

proposed tech policies and whether he still holds

cryptocurrency.

When asked whether the Trump-Vance ticket would seek to

break up Google, Trump's son and adviser Donald Jr., who favored

Vance for the No. 2 job, told Reuters at the convention in

Milwaukee: "I'll let them discuss some of the intricacies of the

platform ... but I like his (Vance's) understanding of tech."

Vance introduced Donald Trump Jr. to entrepreneur and

investor David Sacks and helped to organize a June fundraiser at

Sacks' San Francisco mansion that raised $12 million for the

former president.

Sacks thanked Vance in his speech at the event, according to

a source familiar with it, saying "this all started with J.D.

Vance calling and asking if we could host an event for President

Trump."

The former president used the June event to pitch himself as

a champion for cryptocurrency and slammed Democrats' attempts to

regulate the sector, Reuters reported at the time.

(Additional reporting by Krystal Hu, Jeffrey Dastin in San

Francisco; Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Helen Coster in

Milwaukee; Writing by Katie Paul in New York; Editing by Howard

Goller)