Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, during a fireside chat hosted by Softbank Ventures Asia in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 9, 2023.Â
SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images
US senators expressed concern Friday to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that he is trying to “coddle with the incoming Trump administration” with the goal of avoiding regulation and limiting control, according to a letter he posted on X.
The letter, signed by Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Michael Bennet of Colorado, says that in the two months since the election, major tech companies have made “millions of dollars in gifts to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund in what appears to be be an attempt to influence and influence the actions and policies of the incoming administration.”
Altman personally contributed $1 million to the inaugural fund. Microsoft, Google, Meta AND Amazon donated the same amount, but as a company and not as a leader. Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly contributed $1 million as well.Â
“You have a clear and direct interest in receiving favors from the next administration: your company and many other Big Tech donors are already the subject of ongoing federal investigations and regulatory actions,” according to the letter posted by Altman.
In his X post, Altman wrote, “funny, they never sent me one of these to contribute to the Democrats…”
Representatives for Senators Warren and Bennet did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Altman plans to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday, a company spokesperson confirmed to CNBC, and will reportedly join many of his tech colleagues in Washington, DC. CEO Sundar Pichai and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Altman’s public moves to support Trump come alongside a bitter legal battle between OpenAI and Musk, who originally co-founded the startup and in recent months has been a fixture at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida .
Musk is co-heading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is expected to function as an advisory office. The role could give Musk, who also owns X and runs SpaceX, influence over federal agency budgets, staffing and regulations in ways that favor his companies, including his AI startup, xAI.
Trump has said publicly in the past that he would rescind President Joe Biden’s AI executive order, issued in October 2023, which introduced new security assessments, equality and civil rights guidelines and research into the impact of AI on the marketplace of work.
In Altman’s letter posted Friday, the lawmakers say that “industry efforts suggest that Big Tech companies are trying to curry favor and circumvent regulations” and that the donations “raise questions about corruption and the influence of corporate money in the administration Trump”.
It includes a list of questions to be answered by a Jan. 25 deadline, including: “When and under what circumstances did your company decide to make these contributions to Trump’s inaugural fund?”
The letter also asks Altman whether OpenAI officials had any communications about his donation with members of the Trump transition team or other associates of the president-elect, demanding that he list all such communications.
Altman noted in X that his donation “was a personal contribution as you claim; I’m confused about the questions since my company didn’t make a decision.”
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