Anthropic to donate $20 million to US political group backing AI regulation

FILE PHOTO: Anthropic logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo · Reuters

Reuters

Thu, February 12, 2026 at 9:07 PM GMT+9 1 min read

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WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Anthropic will spend $20 million to back U.S. political candidates who support regulating the ‌AI industry, according to a company statement released ‌on Thursday.

The company is donating to Public First Action, a political group ​that opposes federal efforts to quash state AI regulations. One of the candidates that the group is backing is Republican Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor in Tennessee ‌and who opposed ⁠an effort in Congress to bar states from passing AI laws.

“The companies building AI have ⁠a responsibility to help ensure the technology serves the public good, not just their own interests,” the company said in ​a statement.

The ​AI industry is poised ​to play a major financial ‌role in the U.S. midterm elections this year, as its leaders seek to influence regulation of the technology. Several states have passed laws or are considering bills to regulate the industry.

Two former members of Congress launched Public ‌First Action late last year to ​counter a group called Leading the ​Future, which generally ​opposes strict AI regulations. Leading the Future is ‌backed by AI industry leaders ​such as ​OpenAI president Greg Brockman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. Andreessen’s firm, A16Z, is an investor in OpenAI.

Leading the ​Future has raised $125 ‌million since its founding in August 2025, according ​to a spokesperson for the organization.

(Reporting by Courtney ​Rozen; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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