Anthropic is creating a federal political action committee that permits its employees to support candidates involved in artificial intelligence policy.
The private company submitted a Federal Election Commission filing on Friday to disclose the formation of the organization, aptly called AnthroPAC. The group will allow Anthropic employees, not the company itself, to donate up to $5,000 per candidate for the 2026 election cycle. Any contribution over that amount is strictly prohibited under federal law.
AnthroPAC will be overseen by a bipartisan board of directors. It is expected to back candidates from both parties running in the House or Senate who align with Anthropic’s interests in helping shape federal AI policy.
All contributions and disbursements will be reported through FEC filings. The statement of organization was signed by Allison Rossi, the treasurer of Anthropic.
The employee-funded PAC is similar to others formed by technology companies. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are some examples that have their own corporate PACs.
The new committee is not a super PAC, which can accept unlimited contributions from individuals and corporations. Unlike a traditional PAC, a super PAC can’t directly contribute to a candidate’s campaign.
The news comes as the leading AI firm challenges the Department of War on its decision to scrap a $200 million contract with Anthropic. The contract dispute arose over the company’s desire to be involved in determining the appropriate use of its AI software by the Pentagon, while the department wanted to use Claude, Anthropic’s AI model, as it wished.
On Feb. 27, War Secretary Pete Hegseth labeled Anthropic a “supply chain risk” after President Donald Trump directed all federal agencies to phase out their use of the company’s services over a six-month period. Anthropic then filed two separate lawsuits — one in California and the other in Washington, D.C. — on March 9 to challenge the risk label.
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In San Francisco, where Anthropic is based, a Biden-appointed judge blocked the Pentagon from taking punitive actions against the company last week following the dispute. The Department of Justice filed a notice of intent to appeal the ruling on Thursday.
The second lawsuit is still pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
