Meta is launching a multi-million dollar super PAC to shape California's AI regulatory landscape, marking a decisive escalation in Silicon Valley's political influence campaign. The "Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California" fund targets the 2026 governor's race and signals Meta's determination to counter what it sees as innovation-stifling regulations threatening the state's tech dominance.
Meta just fired the opening salvo in what's shaping up to be Silicon Valley's most expensive political influence campaign yet. The social media giant is pouring tens of millions into a new California super PAC designed to elect candidates who'll take a hands-off approach to AI regulation, according to a Politico exclusive breaking this afternoon.
The timing couldn't be more strategic. Just yesterday, Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI's Greg Brockman pledged $100 million for their own pro-AI super PAC, creating a coordinated lobbying blitz targeting the 2026 election cycle. What we're witnessing is tech's political evolution from reactive defense to proactive offense.
"Mobilizing Economic Transformation Across California" – Meta's deliberately wonky PAC name – represents CEO Mark Zuckerberg's bet that electoral politics, not just traditional lobbying, holds the key to preserving Silicon Valley's regulatory freedom. Brian Rice, Meta's VP of public policy who's leading the effort, has been vocal about Sacramento's "regulatory environment that could stifle innovation, block AI progress, and put California's technology leadership at risk," according to Politico's reporting.
The PAC launch comes after a year of aggressive behind-the-scenes maneuvering. Meta's lobbying machine spent months this year targeting Senator Scott Wiener's SB-53 bill, which would mandate AI companies publish safety protocols and incident reports. The company's political operatives argued such transparency requirements would handicap American AI development against Chinese competitors.
That legislative battle exposed the deepening fault lines in California politics around AI governance. Progressive lawmakers like Wiener are pushing for preemptive regulation before AI systems become too powerful to control effectively. Meanwhile, tech companies are leveraging economic anxiety about maintaining California's innovation edge to build a coalition of business-friendly politicians.
