Sam Corcos
Sam Corcos is the Treasury Department's Chief Information Officer, responsible for IRS technology systems and federal tax data infrastructure, having entered that role via the DOGE advisory process in early 2025.
Sam Corcos, co-founder and CEO of Levels Health — a continuous glucose monitor startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz — entered federal service in early 2025 as a DOGE special adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. By May 2025 he had been formally appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information Systems and Chief Information Officer of the Department of the Treasury, the agency overseeing IRS payment infrastructure and tax enforcement systems. 1 His financial disclosure filed in February 2025 placed his net worth at $25–50 million, with $100–250 million in vested Levels Health stock options. 2
In his Treasury role Corcos canceled approximately $1.5 billion in IRS technology modernization contracts, which he characterized as "30 years behind schedule and $15 billion over budget," and administered HackerRank coding tests to IRS technical staff as a proficiency screen. 3 He estimated he trusted only 100–200 of the IRS IT department’s 8,500 employees to execute the reorganization. 3 By February 2026 the IRS had lost 40 percent of its technology workforce; 50 IT leaders were placed on administrative leave in March 2025 and 1,000 IT staff were reassigned out of technology operations. 4 Reporting indicated that Corcos simultaneously advocated for expanding Palantir’s IRS contracts and pushed to position Palantir as a unified API platform for all IRS databases. 5
Corcos’s mandatory 278 new-entrant financial disclosure initially left the spouse section blank. Two weeks later he filed an amendment disclosing that his wife Varvara Russkova Corcos, managing partner of a health-technology venture capital firm, held a stake in Sana Health — a medical device company funded by the Department of Defense. 6 Rolling Stone separately reported that Varvara Russkova Corcos has ties to a sanctioned Russian oligarch, though Corcos himself is not directly implicated in those ties. 7 The initial omission and subsequent amendment drew scrutiny given Corcos’s authority over IRS data systems and Treasury IT procurement. 6
Background and Entry into Government
IRS Technology Reorganization
Palantir Expansion at IRS
Financial Disclosures and Conflicts
Key Relationships
Financial Activity
All Connections
7 total
All Connections
7 totalJoined the federal government through DOGE and was appointed Treasury CIO; directed the IRS IT reorganization, administered HackerRank coding tests, and said he trusted only 100-200 of the 8,500 IRS IT staff
a16z-to-government dual pipeline: Corcos (Levels/a16z-funded) as Treasury CIO and Kupor (a16z managing partner) as OPM Director -- a16z portfolio influence at both workforce policy and financial technology enforcement
Both DOGE-placed tech CIOs in Trump's second term. Corcos at Treasury oversaw the Palantir IRS contract; Barbaccia at OMB held FITARA oversight of all federal IT, including Palantir. Both held roles connected to Palantir's federal contracts.
Corcos as Treasury CIO oversaw $100M new IRS BPA to Palantir (Sep 2025) and $27.6M in immediate task orders, after canceling $1.5B in competing IRS modernization contracts
Levels Health CEO (a16z-funded) assigned as Special Adviser to Treasury Secretary via DOGE
Corcos served at DOGE under Musk's direction, then became Treasury CIO
Both placed through DOGE as CIOs at major agencies (Treasury and HHS respectively)
All Findings
11 total
All Findings
11 totalfinancial (4)
Omitted wife's VC holdings from 278 disclosure; later amended to add DOD-funded health startup
Sam Corcos filed mandatory 278 new entrant financial disclosure in February 2025 but left spouse section blank. Wife Varvara Russkova Corcos is managing partner of a venture capital firm investing in health technology companies. Two weeks later, Corcos amended disclosure to add wife's holdings in Sana Health, a medical device company funded by the Department of Defense. Levels Health (Corcos's company) received seed and Series A funding from Andreessen Horowitz. Rolling Stone reported wife has ties to sanctioned Russian oligarch.
Claimed $1.5B savings from IRS IT cuts; IRS lost 40% of tech workforce by Feb 2026
As Treasury CIO, Sam Corcos claimed $1.5B in savings from stopping IRS technology modernization contracts, calling the program '30 years behind schedule and $15 billion over budget.' Consequences: IRS lost 40% of its tech workforce by February 2026, 50 IT leaders placed on administrative leave in March 2025, 1,000 IT employees reassigned out of tech operations. Federal News Network Feb 2026 confirmed the 40% workforce loss. Corcos planned to stay at Treasury at least until January 2026.
Sam Corcos — Treasury CIO and Levels Health CEO with a net worth above $25M
Samuel Corcos, age 36, was previously co-founder and CEO of Levels Health Inc (June 2019-present) and now serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information Systems (DASIS) and Chief Information Officer at the Department of the Treasury. His 278 disclosure lists a net worth of $25M-$50M and holdings of $100M-$250M in Levels Health vested stock options. He entered as Special Adviser to the Treasury Secretary, and the ProPublica tracker records his DOGE placement at Treasury and the IRS, a role that became a permanent Treasury CIO appointment. The arrangement places a health-tech CEO over Treasury IT systems, including IRS payment infrastructure.
IRS cancel-and-replace timeline: Corcos arrived Jan 2025 as DOGE adviser, canceled $1.5B in IRS modernization contracts by Mar 2025, then oversaw $100M new Palantir BPA awarded Sep 23, 2025 plus $27.6M in immediate task orders the next day
Corcos arrived at Treasury as a DOGE special adviser on January 20, 2025. Two Palantir IRS task orders followed within the first week, on January 27-28, totaling $11.8M plus $1.8M. On March 20 Corcos announced the cancellation of $1.5B in IRS modernization contracts. A $500K OCPO task order followed on April 2, and a three-day DOGE-Palantir hackathon building the Mega API ran April 5-12, followed on April 18 by a $2.75M ontology mapping extension. Corcos was officially named Treasury CIO on May 14. A $2.4M Compliance 2.0 task order came on July 14. On September 23 a new $100M BPA (2023H225A00002) was awarded to Palantir, and on September 24 two task orders followed: $14.2M for Unified API and $13.3M for Compliance Hub. FY2025 Q4 Palantir Treasury spending reached $60.5M, 2.4 times all of FY2024 ($24.9M). The sequence shows incumbent contracts canceled and Palantir expanded through a new contract vehicle.
relationship (4)
Sam Corcos, co-founder of a16z-backed Levels Health, became Treasury Department CIO after initially serving as DOGE associate and special advisor. Levels received Andreessen Horowitz funding. This is the second a16z-backed founder to take a CIO role in a federal agency (alongside Greg Hogan from a16z-backed Comma.ai at OPM).
Post-DOGE: Levels Health founder became Treasury CIO, canceled .5B in IRS contracts
Sam Corcos, 36, founder of Levels Health (a16z-backed health startup) became Treasury Dept CIO. Initially DOGE special advisor at Treasury. Canceled approximately .5B in IRS modernization contracts from .7B annual budget. Directed HackerRank coding tests for IRS employees. Levels Health was co-founded with a former SpaceX lead engineer and backed by a16z (Andreessen Horowitz) — creating a16z network links between Kupor (OPM) and Corcos (Treasury). Wife has ties to sanctioned Russian oligarch per Rolling Stone investigation, though Corcos himself not directly implicated. Treasury terminated approximately 1,446 employees since Trump's second term.
a16z-funded Levels Health founder advising Treasury while a16z has extensive regulatory interests in crypto, fintech, and tax policy
Sam Corcos's company Levels Health received seed and Series A funding from Andreessen Horowitz. As Treasury CIO, Corcos now influences IRS technology and tax enforcement systems. a16z holds regulatory interests in crypto (its portfolio includes Coinbase and multiple crypto projects), fintech (the Plaid and Stripe ecosystem), and tax policy. a16z spent $1.49M on federal lobbying in 2025 alone, double its 2024 total, lobbying on 'AI and digital assets' through BGR Government Affairs. The a16z-to-Treasury appointment parallels the Kupor-to-OPM appointment, which together place a16z-connected figures over agencies governing both workforce policy and financial technology.
Sam Corcos, a Levels Health co-founder (a16z-backed), joined DOGE as special adviser to Treasury Secretary Bessent and became Treasury CIO in May 2025. At Treasury he advocated for expanding Palantir's IRS contracts rather than his prior employer Levels. In his DOGE capacity at the IRS, he canceled $1.5B in IRS modernization contracts, which cleared competitors to Palantir's benefit, and pushed Palantir as a unified API platform for the IRS. Levels Health and a16z are not known Treasury contractors, a different pattern from the Palantir-Minor case.
intelligence (1)
Sam Corcos, who joined the Treasury Department through DOGE, was appointed Treasury Chief Information Officer and directed the IRS IT reorganization of an 8,500-person department. He administered HackerRank coding tests to IRS technical staff to assess proficiency and estimated that he trusted only 100-200 of the IRS IT employees to carry out the reorganization. IRS employees reported the questions had no connection to their jobs, and one office retained only one-third of its prior workforce, creating operational strain during filing season. The tech-industry screening tools were used to support further federal workforce cuts.
identity (2)
Sam Corcos, co-founder and CEO of Levels Health (an a16z-funded continuous glucose monitor startup), joined the federal government through DOGE and was assigned as Special Adviser to the Treasury Secretary and the IRS. The arrangement places an a16z-backed founder advising Treasury while a16z holds regulatory interests in crypto, fintech, and tax policy. FEC records show small donations to WinRed and to Kevin Kiley for Congress.
Sam Corcos (CEO Levels Health, a16z-funded) appointed Treasury Department CIO as of May 2025. Previously served as DOGE special adviser to Treasury Secretary. Ordered HackerRank coding tests for IRS employees. FEC records show donations to Kevin Kiley for Congress ($1000, 2022), Jeremy for Georgia ($1000), Josh Hawley for Senate ($1000, 2018), Romney for President ($500, 2012), and WinRed PAC via Levels employer. Total FEC records: 12 entries.