Pro-AI Super PAC network funneled millions into Nevada shell companies
WIRED, citing federal campaign finance records, reports that the pro-AI super PAC network Leading the Future — backed by Silicon Valley investors — has raised more than $140 million to support AI-friendly candidates in both parties ahead of November's midterms. Two of its super PACs, Think Big and American Mission, have paid tens of millions of dollars to four Nevada-registered LLCs, including roughly $20 million to Lantern Production Consultants, whose listed addresses are a post office box, a mail center and a Staples store. The Campaign Legal Center has filed an FEC complaint alleging the groups used shell companies to conceal the actual recipients of payments; Leading the Future said it complies with all applicable laws and called the complaint a "desperate ploy" by Public First and Anthropic-aligned groups, while Anthropic did not comment and Public First denied involvement.
Opaque political spending by AI-industry backers could shape who writes AI rules after the US midterms, while leaving voters unable to trace where the money goes.
The Spanish Springs shopping center in Sparks, Nevada, hosts many businesses, including a Spirit Halloween, a hearing aid supplier, and a Vietnamese restaurant. It’s also home to a consulting agency that’s received millions of dollars from one of the biggest pro-AI super PAC networks ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The problem is that the company—Lantern Production Consultants LLC—doesn’t seem to exist anywhere beyond a post office box in the Spanish Springs shopping complex.
Lantern Production Consultants has been paid around $20 million since last year by Think Big, part of a network of pro-AI super PACs funded by the Leading the Future PAC, for a wide array of services, including polling, digital advertising, research, and strategy, according to federal campaign finance records reviewed by WIRED. Backed by major AI investors, Leading the Future has taken a main role in supporting candidates who back what it calls “an AI innovation policy agenda.”
It is just one of four mysterious LLCs based out of Nevada that have received payments from super PACs in the Leading the Future PAC network, including Think Big and American Mission. The network, which is also based in Nevada, has raised over $140 million to influence political campaigns that align with AI-industry priorities in the midterms.
#Leading the Future#Think Big#American Mission#Lantern Production Consultants#Campaign Legal Center#Federal Election Commission#Anthropic#Public First#Marc Andreessen#Ben Horowitz#Greg Brockman#Tech Oversight Project