OpenAI employees donate $245,000 to counter their president's AI regulation stance

OpenAI Staffers Are Funding a Rival Super PAC to Take on Their Boss

A group of rank-and-file OpenAI employees have donated more than $215,000 to a super PAC pushing for stricter regulations on frontier AI labs. Guardrails Alliance, which launched last month with $5 million in total initial funding, bills itself as a populist effort supported by tech workers, labor unions, and other groups. It's aiming to be a counterweight to Leading the Future, a pro-AI industry super PAC bankrolled with more than $100 million from technology industry leaders, including OpenAI president and cofounder Greg Brockman. Seven current OpenAI employees have donated to Guardrails Alliance, as well as one former employee, WIRED has learned. The super PAC exclusively shared some of its donors with WIRED before its first quarterly filing with the Federal Election Commission is made public on July 15. Two OpenAI employees are expected to appear in that filing, while five more are scheduled to be named in Guardrails Alliance's future disclosures. One of the largest donations from an OpenAI employee came from Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe, who gave $200,000 to the political spending group. Cerón Uribe, who has been a research engineer at OpenAI since 2022, tells WIRED he spent the last four years working on the company's strategies for mitigating potential societal harms caused by AI. "In this time, I've become concerned that all that research will have gone to waste if it doesn't translate to guardrails that hold private companies accountable for the responsible development of AI," Cerón Uribe said in a statement. "Tech billionaires, such as Greg Brockman, funded the super PAC Leading the Future to keep AI unregulated. I was very happy to learn that Guardrails Alliance is pushing back against LTF; my decision to donate to them was easy." Contributions from current and former OpenAI employees make up a small portion of Guardrails Alliance's larger goal to raise $15 million this election cycle. They are also paltry compared to the $50 million commitment Brockman and his wife Anna have made to Leading the Future. But regardless of their size, the donations from OpenAI's rank-and-file workers highlight growing tensions inside the company over its efforts to shape AI policy. Brockman's donations to Leading the Future have sparked concern among some OpenAI employees, who have pressed executives to explain the company's ties to the super PAC. OpenAI leaders have since tried to distance themselves from the group, but now some workers are using their own money to directly counter Leading the Future. Shaunna Thomas, a cofounder of Guardrails Alliance, says she's not concerned about the financial disparity between her group and the opposition. "Getting to $15 million enables us to follow Leading the Future into more [political] races," Thomas, a longtime Democratic political organizer, said in an interview with WIRED. "But we're not going to match our opponents dollar-for-dollar, we don't have to. When you expose what the AI PACs are doing, the people reject it. We're leveraging public opinion that already exists, and it's less expensive to do that." After seeing Leading the Future's launch last year, Thomas says she realized that politicians proposing new regulations on the AI industry would "have a very hard time advancing that conversation when they have a $100 million threat hanging over them." Leading the Future, which launched last summer with Brockman as one of the super PAC's marquee supporters, has said its goal is to "oppose policies that stifle innovation" and figures who "who support that agenda." Among the PAC's first political efforts was an attempt to sink the congressional campaign of Alex Bores, the author of New York's landmark AI safety law, who ultimately lost in a primary election last month. The group has gone on to support a number of pro-industry candidates around the country. OpenAI's global affairs chief, Chris Lehane, previously told WIRED he helped set up Leading the Future and has generally consulted Brockman on his political giving, though he's not involved in the PAC's day-to-day operations. When asked for comment on this story, an OpenAI spokesperson pointed WIRED to a June blog post stating that Brockman's engagement with Leading the Future was in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the company. The blog also notes that OpenAI "employees are free to participate in the political process in their personal capacities, including by donating or providing advice to candidates, campaigns, and political organizations." Gabriel Wu, an OpenAI safety researcher, says he gave $5,000 to Guardrails Alliance in an effort "to push back against Leading the Future" and the massive amounts of money being spent to ensure AI remains unregulated. "AI is a powerful technology that could provide enormous benefits to humanity, but I worry about what will happen if we do not pass responsible regulations and instead allow a few ultra-wealthy and unaccountable individuals to control the future of AI," Wu told WIRED in a statement. Julie Steele and Jason Wolfe, two OpenAI staffers who research AI alignment, each donated $5,000 to Guardrails Alliance, according to the group. They, and at least three other OpenAI employees, will appear on the super PAC's future quarterly filings with the FEC. David Farhi, a former OpenAI research manager who left the company last summer after seven years, donated $3,000 to the super PAC, and will appear in the group's July filing. "As a leader of AI research at OpenAI for many years, it became abundantly clear to me that AI is going to present our world with both unprecedented opportunities and challenges," Farhi said in a statement to WIRED. He added that it's been disappointing to see Leading the Future "actively work against OpenAI's mission by aiming to shut down" discussion around AI regulation before it can happen. In a statement to WIRED, Leading the Future spokesperson Jesse Hunt denied that the super PAC has tried to stifle public debate about AI and noted that it has previously advocated for federal regulations on the technology. "Leading the Future has laid out a clear, positive, and proactive agenda and we're proud of our track record supporting a diverse array of policymakers and candidates across the country," Hunt said. Guardrails Alliance isn't the first PAC trying to combat Leading the Future. Public First Action, a super PAC backed with $20 million from Anthropic, has committed to promoting AI safeguards and counter pro-AI groups in the 2026 elections. But Thomas says that Guardrails Alliance is unique in that it represents a broad set of interest groups and doesn't have large corporate donors. Both Guardrails Alliance and Public First Action supported Bores in his primary race for New York's 12th congressional district. The race was flooded with $27 million in spending from pro-AI industry and pro-safeguard groups. Thomas tells WIRED that Guardrails Alliance is looking at supporting other Democrats in the 2026 elections, including in California's 34th congressional district. Guardrails Alliance is expected to disclose more of its donors on Wednesday night in its public filing, including former Andreessen Horowitz partner John O'Farrell, though it's unclear how much he has contributed. A representative for O'Farrell did not respond to WIRED's request for comment. O'Farrell was the first outside partner to join Andreessen Horowitz in 2010, but left earlier this year. In a New York Times opinion piece, he criticized his former colleagues for allegedly using Leading the Future to "intimidate politicians who appear to engage too aggressively with the question of how to govern A.I."

What AI companies want for the millions they're spending on elections

The PACs are both pushing for a degree of AI regulation, but there are differences in what they're seeking. AI executives and companies are betting that spending millions in the 2026 midterm elections will allow them to influence AI bills being developed in Congress. As of the end of June, the two biggest artificial intelligence political action committees have dropped at least $44 million into 40 House and Senate candidates, per a CNBC analysis of Federal Election Commission data. That's an early taste of how the groups will spend the more than $200 million they've raised on the rest of primary season and into the general election, according to fundraising totals provided by groups. The spending by the burgeoning AI industry makes it an increasingly powerful player in the Washington influence space. The companies -- through their PACs -- are setting themselves up to shape how the first national legislation to regulate AI use takes form. Brad Carson, who heads Public First Action, a nonprofit organization with several PACs, said he's seen more bills introduced and discussion around AI legislation, especially as concerns about the capabilities and risks of powerful AI models like Mythos and Claude Fable have come into the spotlight. While any legislation is unlikely to cross the finish line this year, given the limited number of days lawmakers are in session, both parties have signaled AI will continue to be a priority in coming years. "They have a lot of benefits. They have a lot of dangers. And you can't just release them into the wild with no government concern," Carson told CNBC. "Everybody from the right to the left, from pro-Trump to anti-Trump recognizes that." Josh Vlasto, co-leader of Leading the Future, said coming up with the right regulatory structure is critical for lawmakers. "It is so important that we do this now and urgently, because it is still the early innings of the technology, but it is being adopted quickly, at scale," he told CNBC. The overwhelming number of candidates supported by both PACs have won their primaries. Of the 28 candidates Leading the Future has backed, 25 have won their primaries, two have yet to face their elections and only one -- Jesse Jackson Jr. -- lost. The group also opposed Alex Bores, who lost the Democratic primary in New York's 12th Congressional District. Public First Action has backed candidates in 11 races. With the exception of Bores, every candidate it has supported has won. Carson said the group plans to spend in 50-60 races by the end of the midterms. The playbook AI companies are using isn't a new one. In the 2024 elections, crypto-backed PAC Fairshake dropped an eye-popping $200 million into elections, supporting pro-crypto candidates on either side of the aisle. The result: A major bill on stablecoins became law, and significant progress was made on a rules-of-the-road digital assets bill favored by major crypto companies like Coinbase and Ripple. So far, Leading the Future has spent more than $24 million on primary races through the end of June, according to data filed with the Federal Election Commission. The group said it raised $125 million by the end of 2025, in part from donors including private equity firm Andreessen Horowitz, Open AI co-founder Greg Brockman, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, SV Angel founder Ron Conway and AI software company Perplexity. Public First Action, which launched last year, has spent $20 million so far, and it announced last month it had raised $80 million through the end of June. The group received $20 million from Anthropic, although the amount is restricted to educating the public on AI policy and not for political purposes, per a spokesman for the PAC. Pubic First Action doesn't disclose its donors; Anthropic disclosed its own donation. But Carson said the group has received donations from employees of OpenAI, Google, DeepMind and X.

What AI companies want for their midterm millions

AI companies and their backers are pouring hundreds of millions into the 2026 US midterms through super PACs, led by Leading the Future (funded by a16z's Andreessen and Horowitz and OpenAI's Greg Brockman) and the newer Innovation Council Action. Their consistent goal: a single national AI framework that preempts state-by-state regulation, and defeating lawmakers who push tougher rules. The push follows the Senate stripping a federal preemption provision, and it raises "dark money" concerns from watchdogs, though the industry is not monolithic (Anthropic's contribution is restricted to policy education). AI companies and their backers are pouring vast sums into the 2026 US midterms through super PACs. The spending runs into the hundreds of millions across the sector, CNBC reports, and their central demand is remarkably consistent. They want a single national framework for AI, not a patchwork of state laws. The industry argues that 50 different regimes would slow development and hand an edge to China. The flagship vehicle is Leading the Future, a super PAC network launched in 2025. Andreessen Horowitz co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz reportedly gave $25m each, alongside OpenAI president Greg Brockman. The group backs candidates who support what it calls a "responsible national framework" and opposes those who undermine it. It has already spent tens of millions across races from Texas and Georgia to Illinois and Montana. It is not alone, with a newer pro-deregulation group, Innovation Council Action, pledging around $100m. Its reported donors span crypto and AI money, from the Winklevoss twins to Elon Musk's xAI orbit. Why the money is flowing now The timing is not random. Washington tried and failed to freeze state AI laws, with the Senate stripping a preemption provision by 99 votes to 1 before the bill was signed. Having lost that fight in Congress, the industry is taking it to the ballot box. The push mirrors White House efforts to trade state preemption for federal online-safety rules, a deal that has yet to land. States, meanwhile, are moving the other way, introducing well over a thousand AI bills in 2025 alone. That gap between a stalled federal approach and a busy statehouse season is exactly what the money aims to close. Not every AI firm plays it the same way The industry is not a monolith on regulation. Anthropic reportedly gave $20m, but restricted to educating the public on AI policy rather than political campaigning, and it has argued governments should be able to block dangerous AI. That split matters, because "pro-AI" money is not uniformly anti-rules. Microsoft's Brad Smith has separately complained the US regulates AI with no clear rules at all, a vacuum this spending would help fill on industry terms. The democracy question Critics see something more troubling than ordinary lobbying. Watchdog groups have branded the wave "dark money" and warned of corporations trying to buy favourable regulation before the technology is understood. Supporters counter that political spending is legal, disclosed in part, and no different from other industries defending their interests. The clash is sharpened by a public already wary of AI, evident in the grassroots revolts blocking data-centre projects. What the money buys, in the end, is not just ads but a frame, that AI rules should be national, light, and set with the industry in the room. Whether voters accept that frame is the test these millions are designed to pass.

Anthropic CEO gave $1M to AI safety super PAC

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei gave $1 million to Public First, a super PAC backing candidates who support stronger guardrails on AI, according to a campaign finance filing Wednesday. He was joined by several other Anthropic employees, who gave a combined $2.15 million over the last quarter, the filing showed. A Google DeepMind engineer and an OpenAI staff member rounded out the contributions to the super PAC from the last three months. It comes as Public First and another major AI super PAC, Leading the Future, have faced off in early midterm races amid a wider battle over how the industry should be regulated. This dynamic was on display in the race to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). Leading the Future came out against New York state assembly member Alex Bores, who sponsored AI safety legislation that was opposed by the industry. Leading the Future, which opposes candidates who support policies the industry believes could hamper AI innovation, spent more than $8 million on the race. Various AI safety groups, including a super PAC affiliated with Public First, poured over $20 million into backing Bores. He ultimately lost to fellow New York state assembly member Micah Lasher in the Democratic primary last month. According to Wednesday's filing, Public First brought in a total of $3.4 million last quarter and ended the period with about $490,000 on hand. Leading the Future did not report any new contributions over the past three months but wrapped up the quarter with $31 million in the bank. The super PAC has previously received contributions from OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and his wife Anna Brockman, venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, AI firm Perplexity, venture capitalist Ron Conway and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

OpenAI employees pour nearly $250K into AI safety PAC, pushing back on firm's president

A group of current and former OpenAI employees poured more than $245,000 into a super PAC focused on countering Leading the Future (LTF), a committee funded in-part by the AI firm's president and co-founder Greg Brockman. The AI safety super PAC, Guardrails Alliance, announced on Wednesday it received eight contributions totaling $248,000. Three of the donations were reflected in the group's Federal Election Commission quarterly filing Wednesday, while five will show on the next filing, the group said. Guardrails Alliance kicked off just last month, supporting candidates vowing stricter regulations on AI development ahead of the midterms. The super PAC says it represents parents, unions and tech workers to "expose how a small group of Trump-aligned AI billionaires are trying to buy our elections." Guardrails has specifically targeted LTF, which launched last summer to support candidates who help advance AI innovation with a "positive, forward-looking agenda." Among its donors were Brockman and his wife, who contributed $25 million in their personal capacity, along with millions from the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, AI firm Perplexity and venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale. Among those who donated was Juan Felipe Cerón Uribe, a research engineer at OpenAI, who called out Brockman for his funding to LTF to "keep AI unregulated." "I've spent the past 4 years developing mitigations for the societal risks of AI at OpenAI," Uribe said in a statement. "In this time, I've become concerned that all that research will have gone to waste if it doesn't translate to guardrails that hold private companies accountable for the responsible development of AI." "I was very happy to learn that Guardrails Alliance is pushing back against LTF," Uribe added, calling the decision to donate "easy." Gabriel Wu, an AI researcher at OpenAI who also donated to Guardrails, said they are "concerned about the massive amounts of political money being spent to ensure AI remains unregulated." LTF has rejected claims that it opposes all regulation. A spokesperson for the super PAC told The Hill the group "has laid out a clear, positive, and proactive agenda that focuses on establishing a responsible national framework on AI. "We're proud of our track record supporting a diverse array of policymakers and candidates across the country," the spokesperson added. While OpenAI and Brockman have emphasized this was a personal donation, his leadership role at the firm spurred confusion about its influence one of the largest spending groups this cycle. John O'Farrell, former general partner at LTF donor Andreessen Horowitz also contributed to Guardrails Alliance in the last quarter, the super PAC said. "But today we are seeing that ethos come under threat from a handful of the most powerful players in AI and Silicon Valley, including -- to my great sadness -- some of my former partners and friends," O'Farrell said. "I'm still convinced that technology can be a powerful force for good, and AI is no different." He added, "But for that to happen we cannot allow hundreds of millions of dollars to be wielded to scare off any meaningful debate on the governing of AI."