Anthropic loses $26M political fight against OpenAI

A young New York assemblyman lost his bid for Congress this week after his race became the center of the brewing rivalry between two of San Francisco’s biggest artificial intelligence companies.

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Assemblyman Alex Bores, a former tech employee who supports AI regulations, lost Tuesday’s Democratic primary after OpenAI spent millions against him. Anthropic, OpenAI’s chief rival, had spent millions to support Bores. 

New York Assemblymember Micah Lasher won Tuesday’s Democratic primary for the New York City district, which is an open seat after Rep. Jerry Nadler declined to run for reelection. 

Bores quickly became the pawn between the two California AI companies, with $26 million pouring in to support and oppose his candidacy after he proposed a national AI regulation framework.

Bores is a former employee for Palantir, a software company founded by Peter Thiel. He later became a critic of the company and joined the New York Assembly in 2023. In February, he created an eight-point AI regulation plan.

Bores’ plan would have expanded a New York state law that he passed last year that requires large AI companies to comply with safety testing on AI models. He also proposed integrating age verification on AI products and blocking utilities from charging residents more for energy because of data centers.

While OpenAI jumped in to block Bores’ election, his AI plan appeared to get the support of Anthropic. Public First Action PAC, a group that’s received $20 million from Anthropic, spent $10 million to support his candidacy. Politico reported that Dream NYC, a group funded by an Anthropic employee, gave an additional $2.5 million in support of his campaign; and You Can Push Back, backed by billionaire Chris Larsen, spent more than $3 million; as well as Guardrails Alliance, a super PAC supported by tech workers, that put in $300,000.

OpenAI and Palantir tech giants, who partially funded a super PAC called Leading the Future, put in $7 million against Bores. The group has said it invests in AI-friendly candidates and supports “strong and thoughtful national regulatory framework.” 

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That group funded various ads including one that accuses “dark money super PACs spending millions to cover his tracks” referring to the Anthropic money. Mailers for Lasher, the winning Democrat, also warned voters of the “dark money” supporting Bores. Another accused him of “hypocrisy” for his work at Palantir, a company that sells surveillance software to various government agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Bores wrote in a memo last week that the Manhattan race was a symbol of the fight between the people and those in power.

“This is the first congressional race in the country where the dividing line is: can the public stand up to the powerful and protect people from threats like AI, or will the most powerful billionaires in this country win again?” his campaign wrote.

Lasher, a well-connected lawmaker with deep ties to the party, beat other big name candidates in the running including Jack Schlossberg, John F. Kennedy Jr.’s great grandson, and George Conway, a conservative attorney and prominent critic of President Donald Trump.