OpenAI’s Greg Brockman Withdraws Second $25m Donation to AI Super PAC
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OpenAI (get the details) president Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna, have pulled out of a second $25m donation to Leading the Future, a super PAC that backs pro-AI candidates for Congress, according to The New York Times.
Leading the Future had previously announced the couple would give $50m, with $25m in 2025 and $25m this year. However, Brockman, who is OpenAI’s co-founder, chairman, and CTO, told staff in a Slack message obtained by the Times in June that he had no plans to give more.
“I also want to say that I feel terrible about the fact that LTF keeps reflecting on the company and become so much of a distraction for people here,” he wrote. “We’ve donated $25m so far, and have no plans to donate more at this time.”
A representative for the Brockmans declined to comment to the Times. Leading the Future also declined to comment.
OpenAI’s Distance from the Super PAC
Just ten days before Brockman’s Slack message, OpenAI published a blog post clarifying its stance on the super PAC.
“We want to be explicit: No outside political group speaks for OpenAI or represents our company’s views,” the post read.
Brockman had previously stated that the donation was in a personal capacity, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. OpenAI employees expressed criticism, suggesting it was an attempt by leadership to block AI regulation.
In July, a group of OpenAI employees raised over $200,000 for the Guardrails Alliance, a rival super PAC, according to Quartz. The Guardrails Alliance cited pressure from inside and outside OpenAI as a reason for Brockman’s reversal.
Midterm Elections and AI Spending
Leading the Future has raised $50m from Andreessen Horowitz, and its aligned groups had approximately $43m on hand at the end of June, according to the Times. Brockman and his wife also donated $25m to President Donald Trump’s super PAC last year.
Groups aligned with OpenAI and Anthropic have spent $55.7m on the 2026 congressional races, as per a Times analysis. None of the 95 ads reviewed mentioned data centers, and only seven referenced AI or an AI company.
Brockman attended the White House lunch where tech leaders signed Trump’s AI accord on Tuesday, representing OpenAI. The company is also seeking $30bn in new funding.