Build American AI Takes Multimillion-Dollar Data-Center Ads to Three Election States

Build American AI is launching a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign promoting data centers in Kansas, Ohio and Wisconsin. The nonprofit says the effort is meant to shift public opinion as disputes over the facilities enter statewide election politics.

The campaign promotes Build American AI’s data-center agenda in states where concerns about the facilities are a major issue in statewide elections. Its arrival puts paid advocacy behind an infrastructure dispute that has become a flashpoint in battles for control of Congress and state and local governments.

A political network behind the pitch

Build American AI says it is affiliated with Leading the Future, a pro-AI super PAC supported by Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, OpenAI President and co-founder Greg Brockman, and Brockman’s wife, Anna. Politico reporting cited by TechCrunch said the PAC launched with more than $50 million and has primarily used its money to donate to politicians.

The ads sit beside candidate spending

TechCrunch, citing Politico’s reporting, said sources described Leading the Future as supporting candidates who advocate for AI and opposing candidates who lobby against it. The planned advertising campaign adds a public-opinion effort to that candidate-focused political role. Separately, The New York Times calculated that Andreessen Horowitz had made more than $115 million in disclosed federal contributions so far, TechCrunch reported.

OpenAI’s stated distance

OpenAI has said it does not direct Leading the Future or have visibility into its operations, despite support for the PAC from Brockman and Anna Brockman. The company also said AI advocacy groups should clearly disclose their policy views and whom they represent, criticizing astroturfing, or paid organized activity presented as grassroots support. The advocacy landscape is not uniform: Anthropic is described as a supporter of Public First Action, a group that backs AI regulation.