Silicon Valley’s artificial intelligence industry is pouring money into California Democrats’ campaign accounts just days before voters head to the polls.
Anthropic, the San Francisco-based AI company, has contributed $900,000 to Democratic Party committees and voter-turnout efforts, according to a disclosure filed Friday with the California secretary of state.
The largest contribution, $525,000, went to the California Democratic Party. An additional $150,000 was given to an independent statewide get-out-the-vote organization, while Democratic groups in San Francisco, San Mateo, Orange, Fresno and Siskiyou counties each received $45,000.
The donation to San Francisco stands out because the local party has directed significant resources toward competitive state Senate contests beyond the city. Anthropic’s $45,000 contribution was also the company’s sole donation to the organization during this election cycle.
The contributions arrive as Anthropic’s leadership has openly advocated strict government oversight of AI, including mandatory safety standards.
CEO Dario Amodei has estimated that advanced AI poses a 10% to 25% risk of causing an existential catastrophe or ending humanity if it remains entirely unregulated.
California Democrats said the funding would support their broader election operations, including efforts to defeat a Trump-backed ballot measure.
Party spokeswoman Robin Swanson told The San Francisco Standard that the contributions to the state party “help us elect Democrats up and down the ballot, defeat the Trump-backed Prop. 39, and continue our robust voter-protection programs across the state.”
