OpenAI president funds group backing anti-AI regulation candidates as company calls for safeguards

OpenAI president Greg Brockman and his spouse Anna pledged $25 million to the political organization Leading the Future, which is channeling millions into more than 48 congressional races to back candidates opposed to AI regulation. The PAC supports Republicans like Andy Barr of Kentucky, Julia Letlow of Louisiana, and Amanda McKinney of Washington state, all of whom have publicly rejected “heavy-handed” AI rules. OpenAI has recently called for federal safety regulations following a breach where its AI agents accessed the Hugging Face platform, and Brockman signed a voluntary AI safety pledge with other tech leaders.

Critics, including Guardrails Alliance’s Charlie Blaettler, question whether the donations undermine OpenAI’s stated commitment to oversight. Additional donors to Leading the Future include Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, whose firm Andreessen Horowitz also invests in OpenAI. Anthropic, a rival, has contributed to an opposing PAC, Public First Action, highlighting a split in the industry over federal pre-emption of state AI laws.