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OpenAI cofounder and president Greg Brockman has emerged as one in all President Donald Trump’s largest particular person donors of 2025, contributing tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} to political motion committees whereas arguing his focus stays on synthetic intelligence. As reported by WIRED, Brockman says his political spending is rooted in shaping AI coverage reasonably than partisan alignment.
Brockman and his spouse, Anna, donated $25 million final September to MAGA Inc., the tremendous PAC supporting Trump. The contribution marked a big escalation in his political giving, as his largest prior donation had been $5,400 to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 marketing campaign. The couple additionally directed $25 million to Main the Future, a bipartisan AI-focused tremendous PAC geared toward opposing candidates seen as hostile to AI improvement, and pledged one other $25 million to the group in 2026.
Brockman has maintained that the donations are tied to OpenAI’s broader mission to develop superior AI methods that profit humanity. In an interview, he mentioned the mission is “greater than firms, greater than company constructions,” and described AI as doubtlessly essentially the most impactful expertise humanity has created.
Brockman says AI coverage outweighs partisan politics
Brockman argues that public sentiment towards AI is changing into more and more cautious, citing analysis suggesting People are extra involved than enthusiastic about its rising function in day by day life. The broader coverage push has additionally performed out alongside different federal messaging, together with a White Home coal celebration.
“There’s a small variety of politicians who I believe, regardless of realizing it’s not the most well-liked factor, are actually placing themselves on the market to say, truly, we expect [AI] is necessary for the nation,” Brockman mentioned, including that backing AI-friendly insurance policies is one thing he views as bigger than anybody employer.
The donations have sparked backlash, together with an internet marketing campaign generally known as QuitGPT, urging customers to cancel ChatGPT subscriptions in response to Brockman’s help for Trump. The backlash has coincided with different political disputes in Trump’s orbit, together with Canada tariff vote threats.
Internally, the contributions have reportedly prompted discomfort amongst some OpenAI workers. Whereas workers acknowledge the necessity to interact with policymakers on rising expertise, some consider the size of the donations exceeds what is important for enterprise pursuits. Brockman acknowledged inside disagreement, stating that consensus has by no means been common throughout the firm.
The political context additionally consists of Trump’s pro-AI stance throughout his second time period, which has featured efforts to ease regulatory obstacles and streamline allowing for giant information facilities. He has additionally signed government actions geared toward difficult state-level AI legal guidelines that would create inconsistent regulatory requirements.
Latest occasions have additional strained relationships between expertise leaders and the administration. Executives at different AI corporations have publicly criticized actions taken by federal authorities, whereas OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly expressed concern to workers about sure enforcement insurance policies.
Brockman declined to remark straight on these incidents and reiterated his broader message that AI has the potential to unify reasonably than divide. OpenAI has acknowledged that the Brockmans’ political contributions are private and don’t characterize the corporate’s official place.
