Anthropic has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to establish a political action committee, marking a significant step into U.S. political engagement as debates over artificial intelligence policy intensify in Washington. The San Francisco-based company registered the committee, formally named the Anthropic PBC Political Action Committee and referred to as AnthroPAC, in a filing submitted on Friday. The committee is structured as a separate segregated fund connected to the company and is authorized to distribute political donations drawn from voluntary employee contributions. According to a report by Bloomberg, those individual contributions are capped at $5,000 per employee.
Employee-funded political action committees allow corporations to pool voluntary donations from their workforce and direct those funds toward candidates and political committees. Anthropic joins a number of established technology firms that have taken this route, including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. Campaign finance data from the nonprofit research organization OpenSecrets shows that those three companies’ PACs collectively contributed more than $2.3 million to U.S. political candidates during 2024. While donations were distributed across both major parties, contributions during that cycle leaned toward Republican candidates.
The formation of AnthroPAC comes against the backdrop of a deepening dispute between Anthropic and the administration of President Donald Trump over the military application of its AI systems. In February, Trump directed federal agencies to cease using Anthropic’s technology following a disagreement with the Pentagon over the permissible uses of its Claude AI model. The company refused a demand from the U.S. Department of Defense to remove safeguards that prevent Claude from being deployed for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous lethal weapons, despite an ultimatum from the department.
The conflict escalated further in March, when Anthropic filed a federal lawsuit challenging the government’s decision to classify the company as a national security supply chain risk. That designation effectively barred Pentagon contractors from conducting business with the firm. Anthropic argued in its legal filing that the classification was an act of retaliation for its refusal to relax restrictions on military uses of its AI technology.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the supply chain risk designation. The judge found that the government’s actions likely violated Anthropic’s rights under the First Amendment and due process protections. The ruling represents a significant, if preliminary, legal victory for the company as its broader dispute with the administration continues.
Anthropic has not made any public statement regarding the creation of the PAC. Its establishment nonetheless reflects a broader trend among AI developers seeking to shape policy discussions ahead of the U.S. midterm elections and into 2027. Separately, a February report by CNBC noted that in 2026, Anthropic donated $20 million to Public First Action, a group focused on supporting efforts to develop AI safeguards. Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment on the PAC filing.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
