Back
OpenAI, a16z cash flows to AI super PAC
webCredibility Rating
3/5
Good(3)Good quality. Reputable source with community review or editorial standards, but less rigorous than peer-reviewed venues.
Rating inherited from publication venue: Axios
Relevant to AI governance discussions: demonstrates how major AI companies and investors are deploying significant political capital to influence federal vs. state regulatory frameworks for AI in the 2026 election cycle.
Metadata
Importance: 52/100news articlenews
Summary
Pro-AI super PAC 'Leading the Future' has raised over $125 million ahead of the 2026 midterms, with contributions from OpenAI's Greg Brockman, Andreessen Horowitz, and other tech industry figures. The PAC aims to shape federal AI regulation toward a single national standard and oppose state-level patchwork regulations. This represents a significant mobilization of tech industry political spending to influence AI governance outcomes.
Key Points
- •Leading the Future super PAC has raised $125M+ with $70M cash-on-hand, supported by OpenAI's Greg Brockman, a16z, Perplexity, and others.
- •The PAC will support 2026 midterm candidates favoring a 'responsible national framework' for AI and oppose state-level regulatory patchworks.
- •Associated organizations include Build American AI (legislative ads), American Mission PAC ($5M), and Think Big PAC ($5.4M).
- •The effort reflects industry preference for a single federal AI standard over a fragmented landscape of state-level AI regulations.
- •Illustrates the tech industry's growing use of political spending to directly shape AI governance and regulatory outcomes.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Leading the Future super PAC | Organization | 73.0 |
Cached Content Preview
HTTP 200Fetched Mar 20, 20264 KB
Manage your tracker preferences
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to remember preferences, analyze traffic, and deliver ads. Using some kinds of trackers (like cross-site or behavioral advertising cookies) may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” of personal data under certain state laws. You can opt in or out of these trackers below.
Targeted advertising cookies and similar trackers
On
Setting this to “off” disables targeted advertising and related trackers in your current browser. To fully opt out, you must disable tracking on each browser and device you use. Clearing cookies may reset your preferences. Because we can't link your Axios subscriber account (email) to browser cookies, you may also want to update your settings in the Privacy Center to ensure your account is fully opted out. See our Privacy Policy for more on how we use personal data and your rights. Review our Privacy Policy at axios.com/legal for more on how we use personal data and your rights.
Save
[Privacy Center](https://privacy.axios.com/)
[Powered by](https://ethyca.com/)
[Skip to main content](https://www.axios.com/2026/01/30/openai-a16z-cash-ai-super-pac#main-content)
Jan 30, 2026 \- [Technology](https://www.axios.com/technology)
# Exclusive: OpenAI's Brockman and a16Z funnel cash to pro-AI super PAC
- [Maria Curi](https://www.axios.com/authors/mcuri)
- email (opens in new window)
- sms (opens in new window)
- facebook (opens in new window)
twitter (opens in new window)
linkedin (opens in new window)
bluesky (opens in new window)
[Add Axios on Google](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=axios.com)
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
[Add Axios on Google](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=axios.com)
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future has raised more than $125 million to try to shape the 2026 midterms and the future of federal AI regulation.
**Why it matters:** States are racing ahead with regulating AI, while companies are looking to Washington to set a single, industry-friendly federal standard.
**By the numbers:** The super PAC has more than $70 million cash-on-hand, according to a news release shared first with Axios.
- More support from industry leaders will be announced throughout the 2026 election cycle.
- OpenAI president and co-founder Greg Brockman, 8VC founder and managing partner Joe Lonsdale, and Andreessen Horowitz contributed to the fund.
- SV Angel founder and managing partner Ron Conway and AI startup Perplexity also donated to the super PAC.
- The $125 million total includes a $100 million haul announced a
... (truncated, 4 KB total)Resource ID:
43a00aa18a6c3311 | Stable ID: MjUxYzZhMj