Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) is working to stave off potential legislation it views as problematic with the creation of a nationwide super political action committee called the American Technology Excellence Project, according to Axios.
Republican operative Brian Baker and the Democratic consulting firm Hilltop Public Solutions will run the organization, which will focus on electing state candidates from both major parties that are friendly to AI tech, the report said. Meta said as many as 1,100 state-level bills affecting AI were introduced across the U.S. this year.
The bipartisan PAC plans to focus on promoting U.S. technology, advocating for AI advances and placing parents in charge of how their children use apps and AI.
“Amid a growing patchwork of inconsistent regulations that threaten homegrown innovation and investments in AI, state lawmakers are uniquely positioned to ensure that America remains a global technology leader,” said Brian Rice, Meta’s vice president of public policy, according to the report.
This follows last month’s announcement that Meta was establishing a California super PAC called Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California. This PAC will also focus on electing candidates who favor AI innovation over stringent regulation.
“Sacramento’s regulatory environment could stifle innovation, block AI progress, and put California’s technology leadership at risk,” Rice said at the time.
Also last month, it was revealed OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Perplexity and Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm, were investing more than $100M into a PACs opposing AI regulations. Known as Leading the Future, it plans to advance “a clear, high-level policy agenda at the federal and state levels and serving as the political and policy center of gravity for the AI industry.”
Leading the Future will operate through a structured ecosystem of federal and state Super PACs and issue advocacy organizations. It is being led by Zac Moffatt, a Republican national strategist, and Josh Vlasto, who previously served as a press secretary to U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and a chief of staff to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.