Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, has personally donated $1 million to the Public First super PAC. The move comes as AI companies are pouring unprecedented sums into political action committees ahead of the 2026 primaries, turning Washington into a proxy battleground for the industry’s deepest ideological split: how much regulation is too much.
Amodei’s personal check lands on top of a much bigger corporate commitment. Anthropic announced a $20 million donation to Public First Action on February 12, 2026, making the combined war chest from just one company and its founder a cool $21 million aimed squarely at shaping AI policy.
The AI lobby’s great divorce
Public First Action, the super PAC receiving Anthropic’s backing, advocates for AI safety measures, export controls on advanced chips, and transparency requirements in AI development. It also opposes the preemption of state-level AI laws, meaning it wants individual states to retain the power to regulate AI companies operating within their borders.
On the other side sits Leading the Future, a rival PAC with financial ties to OpenAI interests. That group pushes a pro-innovation agenda built around reducing regulatory friction.
Combined AI-focused super PAC expenditures for the 2026 election cycle have already exceeded $50 million. Public First Action alone has reportedly raised nearly $50 million in February 2026, suggesting the safety-first coalition is currently winning the fundraising race.
Why Anthropic is playing offense
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by Dario and Daniela Amodei, both former OpenAI executives who left partly over disagreements about safety priorities.
Amodei’s personal donation signals that this isn’t just corporate posturing. He’s putting his own money where his safety rhetoric has been. With 2026 primaries approaching, both factions are racing to back candidates who align with their preferred regulatory frameworks. Public First Action wants lawmakers who will defend state-level AI oversight and push for mandatory safety testing. Leading the Future wants champions of lighter-touch federal standards that would, in practice, override stricter state rules.