Meta backs $200M super PACs to push AI-friendly candidates

Meta is creating a California super PAC to back state candidates who support fewer AI regulations and help the state stay a leader in AI innovation. The total commitment from Silicon Valley corporations and investors for the initiative could reach up to $200 million, signaling a new era of tech-driven political influence ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The new PAC, called Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California, will spend tens of millions of dollars to back candidates from any party who support AI-friendly policies.

Meta supports candidates who promote AI growth

Meta launched a new California PAC to support state-level candidates who favor AI development over strict regulatory controls. The company wants to protect its interests in the AI industry and the billions of dollars invested in research, development, and product integration across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Meta AI. 

The tech firm said the current regulatory atmosphere in Sacramento risks slowing AI innovation and limiting businesses that want to deploy new technologies. It added that this could damage California’s reputation as the country’s central hub for technological progress.

Brian Rice, Meta’s Vice President of Public Policy and one of the PAC’s principal officers alongside Greg Maurer, highlighted the risk that overly strict legislation could hinder the state’s ability to lead in AI. They noted that “Sacramento’s regulatory environment could stifle innovation, block AI progress, and put California’s technology leadership at risk.”

Rice and other Meta executives say a PAC focused on California politics aims to support candidates who understand AI’s economic, social, and strategic importance to the state and the broader US. The company wants individuals who will defend policies that promote responsible innovation while protecting public interests like parental control over children’s tech use and ethical standards for AI deployment. 

The tech firm’s political spending will give the company much influence in the lead-up to the 2026 governor’s race and other state elections because its political spending places it among the top contributors in California.

But it’s not only Meta that seems to be interested in influencing the state’s politics. Other major technology and venture capital firms like Uber, Airbnb, and Andreessen Horowitz have created similar PACs or supported political initiatives that promote business-friendly and AI-friendly policies. 

Meta enters California politics to influence AI rules

California is one of the biggest battlegrounds for technology policy in the United States. Lawmakers are already reviewing more than 50 AI-related bills, ranging from large language models to consumer protection and online safety standards.

These new rules are putting pressure on companies like Meta because they could affect the speed of innovation and deployment of AI-powered products. There’s a lot at stake, and the company is prepared to invest a lot of its resources to influence the future policies that will govern AI and digital tech. 

Governor Gavin Newsom publicly supported AI growth and advocated for “appropriate guardrails” to protect consumers, prevent misuse, and maintain ethical standards. The governor stressed the state’s responsibility to promote innovation and ensure the developments are useful to the public, and protect communities. 

Meta’s Vice Presidents of Public Policy, Brian Rice and Greg Maurer, will oversee the operations of the new PAC, including candidate support and strategic spending decisions. Analysts say the PAC could release candidate slates before the 2026 election to influence high-profile contests like the governor’s seat. 

The company’s move is just part of a growing trend of political initiatives by tech firms like Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman’s ‘Leading the Future’. This initiative wants to counter strict AI laws and ensure innovations occur in a favorable AI environment. Encode’s Californians for Responsible Artificial Intelligence also wants to play a more active role in state politics by advocating for bills that favor ethical AI use, transparency, and public safety.

Together, these efforts show that California has become an important space where tech firms, investors, policymakers, and advocacy groups all want to influence the rules that will change AI’s future.