OpenAI’s Sam Altman will donate $1M to Trump’s inauguration

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman will join Meta (META) and Amazon (AMZN) in donating seven-figure checks to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, as tech leaders work on improving their relationship with the incoming administration.

A spokesperson for OpenAI confirmed the move on Saturday. “President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI, and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead,” said Altman in a statement.

Altman, who is locked in a legal dispute with vocal Trump ally Elon Musk, has said he is “not that worried” about Musk’s influence in the incoming administration.

Trump has appointed Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, an advisory body designed to cut down government spending and regulations.

Musk, an early OpenAI investor, sued the Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)-backed startup earlier this year for allegedly putting “profit over humanity.” The Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX CEO’s lawsuit against OpenAI centers around the claim that the company has abandoned its original non-profit mission.

Last month, Musk filed for a preliminary injunction to prevent OpenAI’s attempts to convert to a for-profit enterprise.

Yesterday, the AI startup said that Musk “agreed that a for-profit was the next step for OpenAI to advance the mission” in the summer of 2017.

Meta (META) and Amazon (AMZN) are also reportedly donating $1 million each to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund.

Bloomberg reported Saturday that Perplexity will donate $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural committee. The AI search startup is also offering a free version of its premium software to the Trump team.

Perplexity did not immediately respond to a Seeking Alpha request for comment.

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