A $140 million surge into Leading the Future jolted a rival group of wealthy givers aligned with stronger AI rules. Major contributors include crypto billionaire Chris Larsen and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei. According to a person with direct knowledge of the fundraising, donations have also arrived from dozens of Anthropic and OpenAI researchers and engineers, plus new supporters at firms holding Anthropic stakes - Jane Street among them - as well as financiers and crypto participants with no AI ties.
This month, momentum for stricter safeguards picked up after Amodei urged that advanced AI development be collectively slowed, a position later endorsed by Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and other tech leaders citing catastrophic risk. At the same time, political operatives have ramped up outreach to San Francisco Bay Area tech workers as Anthropic and OpenAI approach planned IPOs, people familiar said. AI-safety advocates are evolving into a force in this year's midterms as Washington wrestles with regulation and voters worry about jobs and Big Tech's sway.
Like the pro‑AI side, which is backed by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, safety‑focused contributions are flowing via two avenues: straight to candidates and via an expanding array of super PACs. "Our side has a pretty massive network of hard-dollar donors and we have a big soft-dollar operation," said Brad Carson, who leads Public First, a super PAC advocating pro‑AI regulation.
The safety movement long ran through nonprofits dedicated to advocacy, research, and policy, funded by donors such as Facebook co‑founder Dustin Moskovitz, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Skype co‑founder Jaan Tallinn. This year, it built a political‑giving machine to boost candidates pressing for precautions, including those who advanced guardrails in statehouses or publicly warned of catastrophic risks.
According to the group, the Public First Action operation - with the Public First super PAC as part of it - has brought in $83 million. Anthropic put $40 million into Public First Action, and Amodei put $1 million into the super PAC. Roughly half of the network's funding is shielded from public reporting.
According to Carson, the $43 million that is not disclosed was contributed by 1,000 individuals, with 40 to 50 of them providing $20 million. Employees across top AI companies - xAI, Meta Platforms Inc., and Alphabet Inc.'s Google among them - have chipped in. "It's very diverse," he said.
The funding base reaches far past Public First.
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Additional pro-regulation efforts include a committee linked to Americans for Responsible Innovation, the AI Policy Network PAC, the Guardrails Alliance super PAC, plus Anthropic's own PAC. Together they have reported raising $1.6 million. Guardrails Alliance reported having $5 million in cash that has not yet appeared in filings, aiming for $15 million by year-end.
Carson called the broader donor network "moderately organized," with roughly 25 political advisers in Florida, Texas, New York and San Francisco working with hundreds of AI‑focused donors. A person familiar said the AI Policy Network is counseling and coordinating prospective donors across New York finance and the Bay Area.
Democrat Alex Bores' unsuccessful congressional run in New York's 12th district became a rallying point. That warning shot mobilized safety‑minded donors. Backers of Bores - among them Anthropic‑backed Public First, San Francisco billionaire Chris Larsen, and dozens of tech workers - ultimately raised more than LTF. Altogether, their spending exceeded $21 million, with $3.3 million coming from Larsen.
Money then flowed to other candidates. Individual donations went to congressional candidate Scott Wiener, who pushed similar legislation as a California state lawmaker, and to Manny Rutinel, a Colorado state representative running for Congress.
For many tech workers, wealth tied up in private shares has yet to turn into spendable cash.
Fundraisers and consultants say this is just the start of a new donor class intent on shaping AI policy. "It's been exciting to see," he said. "We've flexed our muscles and it turns out we've got pretty big muscles."
What this means for your money: If Anthropic's IPO unlocks cash for safety‑leaning employees and investors, expect more political money to chase the spotlight.
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