Insider Brief
- Meta is launching a California super PAC, Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across (Meta) California, to spend tens of millions backing candidates supportive of light-touch tech regulation, especially around AI, Politico reported.
- The move escalates Meta’s lobbying in Sacramento, where it has already sought to weaken bills like SB 53 imposing AI safety and transparency rules, and positions the company to influence the 2026 governor’s race.
- Meta joins a growing wave of tech-funded political groups, including Airbnb’s $15M PAC and the $100M Leading the Future network, while AI safety advocates like Encode counter with their own statewide PAC.
Meta is stepping deeper into California politics with the launch of a super PAC designed to boost candidates who favor light-touch tech regulation, especially in artificial intelligence, according to details first reported by Politico. The new committee, called Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across (Meta) California, will spend tens of millions backing candidates for statewide office regardless of party.
The effort marks a sharp escalation of Meta’s political ambitions in its home state, which has emerged as the country’s most aggressive testing ground for AI regulation, Politico noted, The company has already spent heavily on lobbying Sacramento, pushing to water down bills such as state Sen. Scott Wiener’s SB 53, which would impose transparency and safety standards on large AI models. Now, by creating its own PAC, Meta is signaling a willingness to wade into electoral politics at the highest levels, including the crowded 2026 governor’s race.
Meta’s move follows a playbook pioneered by other tech firms such as Uber and Airbnb, which poured millions into California campaigns to build clout in Sacramento. Airbnb this year added $15 million to its own PAC, while a new network called Leading the Future—backed by Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI’s Greg Brockman, Perplexity, Ron Conway, and Palantir’s Joe Lonsdale—has pledged over $100 million to counter AI safety measures in California and other states.
Politico pointed out, at the same time, AI safety advocates are ramping up their own political presence. Encode, a nonprofit research-backed group, recently launched Californians for Responsible Artificial Intelligence, sponsoring legislation and mobilizing against industry-friendly bills. The result is a brewing contest between pro-innovation and safety-first camps, with Silicon Valley’s biggest firms increasingly treating Sacramento as a battlefield for the future of AI.
