OpenAI chief gave millions to Trump. He says it’s for humanity

President of OpenAI and Co-founder Greg Brockman doesn’t consider himself a politician, which is surprising, since he was one of President Trump’s largest individual donors for 2025.

Greg and his wife, Anna Brockman, gave $25 million to MAGA Inc – the super PAC that supports President Trump – in September of last year. The husband also presented 25 million dollars To the bipartisan super PAC on artificial intelligence, Leading the futurewhich says it plans to oppose politicians who jeopardize “Americans’ ability to benefit from artificial intelligence.” The Brockman family has pledged an additional $25 million to Future Leadership in 2026, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

According to Brockman, these political donations serve OpenAI’s founding mission: to develop highly capable artificial intelligence systems and distribute benefits to all of humanity.

“This mission, in my opinion, is bigger than companies, bigger than corporate structures,” he says in an interview with WIRED. “We are embarking on a journey to develop this technology that will be the most impactful thing humanity has ever created. Getting it right and making it benefit everyone, is the most important thing.”

Brockman’s emergence as a major political donor marks a sharp turnaround for the tech leader who, until recently, did not have a significant history of political spending. The largest donation Brockman has previously made was a $5,400 gift to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Brockman says he’s increasing his political spending in part because public opinion has turned against artificial intelligence. Modern reconnaissance A report from the Pew Research Center notes that Americans are “more concerned than excited about the increasing use of artificial intelligence in everyday life.” For Brockman, this makes supporting pro-AI politicians increasingly crucial.

“There are a few politicians who I think — even though they realize it’s not the most popular thing — are going out of their way to say, actually, we think (AI) is important for the country,” he says. “I think their support is really important. I think this technology is something that’s important for global communities. I think it’s important for America. I think it’s important for the world. And anything I can do to support this technology that benefits everyone is something I will do. In that sense, supporting the team is probably bigger than the people I work with. It’s really the humanity of the team.”

Despite his stated goal, Brockman’s donations could contribute to some people’s negative feelings toward artificial intelligence. QuitGPTThe movement, which calls on people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions because of Brockman’s donation to Trump, is gaining momentum, with more than 700,000 people sharing the online petition or signing its pledge. On Sunday, actor Mark Ruffalo Announce On Instagram he was joining the movement.

His donations have also caused some consternation within OpenAI. While many employees recognize that the company needs to work with government officials to develop cutting-edge technology, there is a sense that Brockman is doing more than is strictly necessary to advance the OpenAI business. “Personally, I think Greg’s political donations probably go beyond that,” says one OpenAI researcher who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

“I think there is never a decision that everyone at OpenAI agrees on,” Brockman says when I ask him what his team thinks about donations. “Even when we were 10 people. We’ve always been a truth-seeking culture. We have this scientific mission of discovery, and reality kind of doesn’t care about your own opinion. It cares about what’s true.”

OpenAI maintains that the Brockman family’s donations are purely personal, and do not reflect company policy. “The Brockman family’s donation reflects their focus on artificial intelligence as a defining issue for the country and the world during this presidency,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “They bring a unique perspective on technology and are particularly engaged on this issue.”