Topline
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday shared a letter from lawmakers expressing concern about donations that he—and Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and others—made to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, claiming the donations were made to “cozy up” to the incoming administration to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
The lawmakers suggested the companies used contributions to “cozy up” to President-elect Donald … [+]
AFP via Getty ImagesKey Facts
The letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said donations to Trump’s inaugural fund by Altman and other tech firms like Google, Microsoft and Uber, “raise questions about corruption and the influence of corporate money” on the incoming administration.
Altman told Fox News in December he would donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, saying he was “eager to support” Trump’s efforts to “lead our country into the age of AI.”
Warren and Bennet claimed Altman and the companies used their “massive contributions” to “avoid scrutiny, limit regulation and buy favor,” saying Altman has a “clear and direct interest in obtaining favors” from the incoming administration as OpenAI faces probes by the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The letter includes several questions to be answered by a Jan. 31 deadline, including: “When and under what circumstances did your company decide to make these contributions to the Trump inaugural fund?”
Altman—who previously donated to Democratic campaigns for Warren and President Joe Biden, among others—wrote it was “funny” lawmakers “never sent me one of these for contributing to Democrats” and noted his donation was a “personal contribution” not made by his company.
Neither Warren nor Bennet immediately responded to a request for comment.
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Crucial Quote
“In the two months since the election, Big Tech companies including OpenAI have made million-dollar gifts to [Trump’s] inaugural fund in what appears to be an effort to influence and sway the actions and policies of the incoming administration,” the senators wrote.
Big Number
More than $170 million. That’s how much has been donated to Trump’s inaugural fund, eclipsing a previous record of $107 million set by Trump’s 2016 inauguration, according to the Associated Press.
Key Background
Altman joined several large companies that donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, including Ford Motor Co. and Amazon, and Apple CEO Tim Cook personally contributed $1 million. The donations come as companies attempt to build their relationship with Trump, who has been critical of executives like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg in the past, and as many of those companies come under regulatory scrutiny during the Biden administration. The SEC opened an investigation into OpenAI in February 2024 over claims the company misled its investors, and the FTC launched a probe in July 2023 into whether OpenAI violated consumer protection laws. Trump has said he would repeal Biden’s executive order calling for additional safeguards on AI technology.
Further Reading
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