Anthropic Donates $40 Million Cumulatively to Push AI Regulatory Legislation
N.R. Finch
Anthropic pledged another $20 million to political advocacy group Public First Action, bringing its total commitment to $40 million — citing rising risks from its own powerful AI systems including the Mythos model. The money targets U.S. midterm elections, where the AI industry's pro-regulation and anti-regulation camps are now spending at near-parity to shape Congress.
Where is the money going, and how can it be spent?
Public First Action is a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt political organization — a structure that can run policy advocacy but is nominally barred from directly supporting candidates. It was founded late last year by two former members of Congress.
Anthropic's statement says the donation "may not be used to influence the election of any federal, state, or local candidate," restricting funds to public education and policy advocacy.
But as the *Wall Street Journal* noted, the money can still fund issue ads tied to specific policy positions. This means → the ads never say "vote for X," but the policy stances they promote often map directly onto specific politicians' platforms — functionally, it is campaign support by another name.
Who is spending on the other side?
The main rival is Leading the Future — a super-PAC network backed by tech executives and investors that pushes for less AI regulation.
Its backers include OpenAI president Greg Brockman and venture firm Andreessen Horowitz. The network has disclosed roughly $75 million raised, with more pledged.
Public First Action disclosed $80 million raised as of late June. In plain terms = the two sides are now at near-parity in funding, and the AI regulation fight has officially become a dollar-for-dollar political contest.
Have these two sides already clashed in elections?
The two camps have already squared off in multiple congressional primaries. In one New York race, both poured money into a fight over Alex Bores, a state legislator who authored New York's AI safety bill — Public First backed him, Leading the Future opposed him.
Bores lost his Democratic primary, but the winner also supports AI regulation. This means → even when the "pro-regulation" candidate loses, the pro-regulation position itself did not — the policy consensus in the district had already shifted toward oversight.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei personally donated $1 million in May to a Public First-affiliated super PAC. Other company employees have also contributed to pro-regulation groups.
How does Anthropic's own relationship with the government look?
The move could reignite tensions between Anthropic and the White House. Two of the company's models were previously halted over safety concerns.
More seriously, the U.S. Department of Defense has designated Anthropic a national security risk — a finding the company is currently challenging in court.
This reflects a contradictory position: Anthropic is spending heavily to push AI regulation through Congress while itself being targeted by government agencies on safety grounds. Put simply = it is publicly calling for the industry to be regulated, while privately suing to push back the regulation already applied to it.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.