Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei gave $1 million in May to Public First, a super PAC that backs candidates who support safety regulations for artificial intelligence, FEC filings show.
The contribution appears to be Amodei’s first seven-figure political donation and came as Public First and allied groups squared off against Leading the Future, an industry super PAC network opposed to stricter AI rules.
Amodei’s donation arrived weeks before Public First transferred more than $3 million to its Jobs and Democracy super PAC, which in turn spent $12 million supporting New York Assemblymember Alex Bores in the primary to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler.
The primary became a proxy fight between factions in the AI industry, with Leading the Future, funded in part by OpenAI President Greg Brockman and Andreessen Horowitz, spending $8 million against Bores.
Wednesday’s FEC filings show five other Anthropic employees gave a combined total of more than $2 million to Public First, alongside a $250,000 donation from a Google DeepMind employee and a $5,000 donation from an OpenAI employee.
Anthropic also gave $20 million to Public First Action in February, funds the group says are restricted to public education on AI policy and not usable for political purposes.
The filings underscore a funding gap: Leading the Future had $31 million on hand at the end of June and more in two affiliated super PACs, while the three super PACs tied to Public First Action held a combined $1.8 million, and Public First Action says it has raised $80 million since launching late last year though some of that is already spent or restricted.
An Anthropic spokesperson did not immediately respond to press requests for comment.
