AI Money Floods State Fights Over Data Centers
A dark money group backed by Marc Andreessen and OpenAI's president says it has $50 million for pro-data-center campaigns, starting in three battleground states.
A dark money group backed by Marc Andreessen and OpenAI's president says it has $50 million for pro-data-center campaigns, starting in three battleground states.
Partners at major private equity and venture capital firms wrote the largest checks to Advance Progress, which is working to unseat Sen. Ed Markey in the Sept. 1 primary. The industry accounts for more than 40% of the super PAC’s receipts.
Consultants paid by Rep. Haley Stevens and other Democratic Senate campaigns are also managing a nonprofit that gives Google, Meta, Palantir, and other AI companies direct access to the congressional staff who regulate them.
OpenAI, Google, Meta, and others sent a wave of donations to both parties’ attorney general groups as AGs move to regulate the AI industry. Elon Musk's xAI contributed as well.
A dozen congressional aides—including staffers for co-chairs of the House Democrats' AI task force and a key AI subcommittee—were flown to Austin for meetings with executives and lobbyists from Google, Nvidia, Dell, Samsung, and other companies lobbying Congress to preempt state AI regulations.
So far, the industry groups have won nearly all the races they’ve thrown their money at, helping to advance allies who could help shape AI legislation in the next Congress.
The Innovative Future Collective, packed with corporate lobbyists for AI industry giants like OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz, has been paying for House and Senate staff trips to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and London.
A new Public Citizen report analyzes lobbying disclosures for 2025 and finds that lobbying on AI issues has skyrocketed.
OpenAI and Meta were among the tech companies that sent lobbyists to the Democratic Governors Association's annual meeting, according to a list obtained by Sludge.
A new AI industry group, Leading the Future, has amassed $100 million from heavy hitters like Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI with aims to knock off candidates who favor stricter regulation.