The AI industry is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into super PACs ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

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Some of the biggest names in AI and tech are using the midterm elections to fight a proxy war over the future of their industry.Anthropic, Meta, and OpenAI President Greg Brockman are among those linked to networks of outside groups and super PACs aimed at shaping the next Congress and the balance of power in some state legislatures.Already, the groups have spent over $65 million, with tens of millions still left in reserve. The full total may not be known for some time due to so-called "dark money" groups that don't have to regularly disclose their expenditures.The Trump administration has generally taken a friendly approach to AI regulation, but tensions have flared after the White House slowed the release of the latest frontier models from Anthropic and OpenAI. Both companies are also closely watching what, if anything, the Trump administration and lawmakers decide to do about China-based open weight AI models like Moonshot AI's popular Kimi K3.AI is facing a critical moment as more people are using more advanced models than ever before. At the same time, the industry has become deeply unpopular. Some states are even considering enacting data center moratoriums like the one New York Gov. Kathy Hochul recently signed into law.Here are the super PACs to keep an eye on as the year progresses.