OpenAI President Donated $25M, Then Felt 'Terrible'

OpenAI's co-founder and president quietly shelved half of a planned $50 million pledge to a high-profile AI political group, underscoring how fraught AI money and influence have become. The super PAC, Leading the Future, had long said Greg Brockman and his wife, Anna, would give $25 million in 2025 and another $25 million in 2026; only the first installment has materialized. In a June Slack message obtained by the New York Times, Brockman told employees the couple had "no plans to donate more at this time" and called the group a distraction for OpenAI. "I feel terrible about the fact that LTF keeps reflecting on the company" and "I've been thinking hard about how to turn the ship on it," the billionaire wrote.

The move follows an OpenAI blog post pointedly disassociating the company from the super PAC, which has drawn scrutiny for dismissing AI safety concerns and aggressively targeting opponents, including a congressional candidate. Democratic Rep. Greg Casar seized on the report, saying, "OpenAI's president admits his AI super PAC has become a liability." OpenAI employees had signaled their opposition to the initial donation by giving $215,000 to a rival super PAC backing stronger AI regulation, per Forbes. Brockman, a close ally of President Trump on AI policy, has separately given $25 million to a Trump-aligned super PAC.