OpenAI employees gave more than $215,000 against Greg Brockman-backed Leading the Future, while Anthropic and CEO Dario Amodei directed $21 million to Public First Action ahead of the 2026 primaries.
Rival AI-focused super PACs are drawing increasing money from executives, companies and employees as the industry fights over how tightly artificial intelligence should be regulated before the 2026 U.S. elections. OpenAI employees have directed more than $215,000 to an effort opposing Leading the Future, a super PAC backed by OpenAI president Greg Brockman and his wife Anna, while Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has personally donated $1 million to Public First, adding to Anthropic’s $20 million contribution to Public First Action announced on February 12, 2026. Leading the Future supports a lighter regulatory approach to AI, while Public First Action backs AI safety measures, export controls on advanced chips, transparency requirements, and opposition to federal preemption of state AI laws. The split highlights a broader political divide inside the AI sector, with combined AI-focused super PAC spending for the 2026 election cycle already exceeding $50 million. Public First Action alone reportedly raised nearly $50 million in February 2026. The political fight has also surfaced inside OpenAI. Concerns over the company’s perceived ties to Leading the Future emerged in internal meetings in May 2026, and OpenAI said on June 1, 2026, that it does not engage in or fund employee-directed PACs and that Brockman’s donations were made in his personal capacity. The episode underscores how AI companies and their staff are increasingly trying to influence the rules that will govern the technology.