Silicon Valley executives, AI startups and venture capital figures have spent more than $65 million ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, according to a Financial Times report cited by Times of India. The spending is aimed at shaping the next Congress and key state legislatures on issues including state-level data centre bans, strict oversight of advanced AI models and local resistance to the energy demands of large data centers.

Networks of super PACs linked to OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and venture capital investors have already spent more than $65 million, the report said. The political push comes as public adoption of AI tools reaches an all-time high, while federal regulators examine safety standards and competition from Chinese open-weight models (models with publicly available parameters) such as Moonshot AI’s recently launched Kimi K3.

Leading the Future, a pro-AI super PAC network backed by tech investors and executives, is leading the campaign against heavy regulation. Its umbrella PAC raised nearly $76 million by the end of June, including $50 million from Andreessen Horowitz, $25 million from OpenAI President Greg Brockman and his wife Anna, $25 million combined from Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz at $12.5 million each, and $500,000 from SV Angel founder Ron Conway. OpenAI said Brockman’s donations were made personally.

Leading the Future routed money into Think Big, which focuses on Democratic primaries, and American Mission, which focuses on Republican races. The two branches together spent over $29 million. Think Big spent $8 million in New York’s 12th Congressional District primary against Assemblyman Alex Bores, a supporter of strict AI regulation. American Mission spent $10.7 million supporting 19 Republican congressional candidates nationwide.

Public First Action emerged as a safety-first counterweight backing candidates who support strict AI safety standards. The network, co-founded by former congressmen Chris Stewart and Brad Carson, has an $80 million war chest. Anthropic supplied $40 million, citing rapid technological advances including its Claude Mythos model, while CEO Dario Amodei gave $1 million and Alignment Science lead Jan Leike gave $500,000 total.

Meta is focusing on state-level races to avoid a fragmented patchwork of local AI laws. The parent company of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook donated $20 million to Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California and spent $1.3 million supporting Democratic state Senate candidate Scott Sakakihara. Outside California, Meta contributed $45 million to the American Technology Excellence Project, a 527 organisation.

Silicon Valley executives, AI startups and venture capital figures have spent more than $65 million ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, according to a Financial Times report cited by Times of India. The spending is aimed at shaping the next Congress and key state legislatures on issues including state-level data centre bans, strict oversight of advanced AI models and local resistance to the energy demands of large data centers.

Networks of super PACs linked to OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and venture capital investors have already spent more than $65 million, the report said. The political push comes as public adoption of AI tools reaches an all-time high, while federal regulators examine safety standards and competition from Chinese open-weight models (models with publicly available parameters) such as Moonshot AI’s recently launched Kimi K3.

Leading the Future, a pro-AI super PAC network backed by tech investors and executives, is leading the campaign against heavy regulation. Its umbrella PAC raised nearly $76 million by the end of June, including $50 million from Andreessen Horowitz, $25 million from OpenAI President Greg Brockman and his wife Anna, $25 million combined from Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz at $12.5 million each, and $500,000 from SV Angel founder Ron Conway. OpenAI said Brockman’s donations were made personally.

Leading the Future routed money into Think Big, which focuses on Democratic primaries, and American Mission, which focuses on Republican races. The two branches together spent over $29 million. Think Big spent $8 million in New York’s 12th Congressional District primary against Assemblyman Alex Bores, a supporter of strict AI regulation. American Mission spent $10.7 million supporting 19 Republican congressional candidates nationwide.

Public First Action emerged as a safety-first counterweight backing candidates who support strict AI safety standards. The network, co-founded by former congressmen Chris Stewart and Brad Carson, has an $80 million war chest. Anthropic supplied $40 million, citing rapid technological advances including its Claude Mythos model, while CEO Dario Amodei gave $1 million and Alignment Science lead Jan Leike gave $500,000 total.

Meta is focusing on state-level races to avoid a fragmented patchwork of local AI laws. The parent company of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook donated $20 million to Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California and spent $1.3 million supporting Democratic state Senate candidate Scott Sakakihara. Outside California, Meta contributed $45 million to the American Technology Excellence Project, a 527 organisation.