Tech billionaire Chris Larsen announced a $3.5 million spend to back New York House hopeful Alex Bores amid a frayed debate over A.I. regulation. Bores, a state assemblyman who helped craft New York’s AI safety law, faces a barrage of attack ads from a super‑PAC tied to OpenAI. Larsen’s move turns the race into a proxy war.

OpenAI’s allied super‑PAC launched a 30‑minute TV spot accusing Bores of supporting ICE‑linked tech at Palantir, while claiming he championed safety rules that would hurt the industry. Larsen’s counter‑ad, airing on cable, warns of AI‑enabled violence and blames OpenAI for attacking a lawmaker who pushed for federal safeguards that could reshape national policy for tech.

Ripple Labs co‑founder Larsen has poured crypto‑industry cash into political causes, most recently donating $93 million to Fairshake, the crypto super‑PAC. His entry into the NY race signals a shift: unlike crypto donors who favor regulation, Larsen argues the industry needs rules to thrive, positioning Bores as the regulatory champion he wants to protect for leaders.

With over $1.5 million already spent by Anthropic‑aligned groups, Larsen’s $3.5 million injection brings the total Super‑PAC outlay in the Manhattan primary to more than $5 million. The spending spree underscores how AI policy battles are now funding political campaigns, turning congressional contests into proxy arenas for tech giants' industry wars that shape national technology policy for investors.