Funding Tracker

Follow the money around America's data center fight.

A source-linked map of donors, advocacy groups, political networks, industry coalitions, campaigns, and spending connected to data center development, opposition, and broader AI policy.

Verified/reported direct pro-data-center expenditure$367,272

Only records labeled spent or reported spent are included here.

Reported pro-data-center advocacy capacity$50,000,000

Cash on hand, available, or committed campaign capacity. This is not counted as spent.

Opposition-related associated fundingAmount not disclosed

Recipient-level grant leads only. Aggregate claims are separated below.

Broader AI political funding$125,000,000

Pro-AI political network funding where data centers are only one component.

Reported aggregate claims$39,000,000

Advocacy-report totals that are not modeled as donor-recipient spending.

Influence operations1

Nonfinancial influence activity tracked outside funding totals.

Tracked donors11

Individuals, foundations, trade groups, and reported donor groupings.

Recipients13

Organizations, campaigns, coalitions, and state advocacy vehicles.

Campaigns6

National and state-level campaigns with source trails.

States with campaigns6

State activity currently identified in the tracker.

Separated funding categories

Pro-development capacity$50M

Opposition-related associated0

Broader AI political$125M

These are separate disclosure buckets, not a single comparable spending chart.

Direct vs indirect records

Reported direct data-center expenditure$367,272

Capacity / associated / indirect / broader$175M

The direct-spend bar is intentionally separated from broad fundraising and indirect grant claims.

Verification mix

Verified primary/secondary7

Needs more source work5

Primary-source upgrades are the biggest near-term research target.

Funding map / network

Donor -> recipient -> campaign -> state

Click a node to inspect relationships, states, source trails, verification status, and caveats.

Hansjorg WyssDonorIndividual

Chris HohnDonorIndividual

Quadrature Climate FoundationDonorFoundation

KR FoundationDonorFoundation

Oak FoundationDonorFoundation

Leading the Future reported backersDonorPAC

Marc AndreessenDonorIndividual

Ben HorowitzDonorIndividual

Greg BrockmanDonorIndividual

Anna BrockmanDonorIndividual

Data Center Coalition member companiesDonorTrade association

350.orgOrganizationOpposition-related

Sierra ClubOrganizationOpposition-related

Oil Change InternationalOrganizationOpposition-related

Americans for Financial ReformOrganizationOpposition-related

IndivisibleOrganizationOpposition-related

GAIAOrganizationOpposition-related

Leading the FutureOrganizationBroader AI policy

Build American AIOrganizationPro-development

Data Center CoalitionOrganizationPro-development

North Carolina ConnectsOrganizationPro-development

Virginia ConnectsOrganizationPro-development

Pennsylvania ConnectsOrganizationPro-development

Connected OhioOrganizationPro-development

National data center moratorium letterCampaignNational

Build American AI state campaignCampaignKansas / Ohio / Wisconsin

North Carolina Connects ad campaignCampaignNorth Carolina

Virginia ConnectsCampaignVirginia

Pennsylvania ConnectsCampaignPennsylvania

Connected OhioCampaignOhio

KansasStateCampaign geography

OhioStateCampaign geography

WisconsinStateCampaign geography

North CarolinaStateCampaign geography

VirginiaStateCampaign geography

PennsylvaniaStateCampaign geography

Recent funding activity

Amount not disclosedassociated

Data Center Coalition member companies -> Virginia Connects -> Virginia Connects

Pro-developmentPartially verified

No dollar amount is currently attached; track as a relationship until filings disclose amounts.

Virginia Connects source

Amount not disclosedassociated

Data Center Coalition member companies -> Pennsylvania Connects -> Pennsylvania Connects

Pro-developmentReported, unverified

Needs state ad, incorporation, and lobbying disclosure checks before dollar amounts are shown.

Sludge source

Amount not disclosedassociated

Data Center Coalition member companies -> Connected Ohio -> Connected Ohio

Pro-developmentReported, unverified

Needs Ohio ad, lobbying, and corporate/association disclosure checks before dollar amounts are shown.

Sludge source

$50,000,000cash on hand / reported

Leading the Future reported backers -> Build American AI -> Build American AI state campaign

Pro-developmentVerified secondary

Record as available/committed campaign capacity, not proof that the full amount has been spent.

Axios source

$367,272spent / reported

Data Center Coalition member companies -> North Carolina Connects -> North Carolina Connects ad campaign

Pro-developmentVerified secondary

NC Newsline reports 747 ad spots over about one month; attach FCC/ad-disclosure records when available for primary verification.

NC Newsline source

Amount not disclosedassociated

Data Center Coalition member companies -> Data Center Coalition -> North Carolina Connects ad campaign

Pro-developmentPartially verified

Specific member-company contributions and pass-through amounts still need disclosure research.

Data Center Coalition source

Largest numeric disclosures

$125,000,000+raised / reported

Leading the Future reported backers -> Leading the Future

Broader AI policyVerified secondary

Use as broader AI political funding only unless FEC filings or campaign disclosures identify data-center-specific expenditures.

Washington Post source

$50,000,000cash on hand / reported

Leading the Future reported backers -> Build American AI -> Build American AI state campaign

Pro-developmentVerified secondary

Record as available/committed campaign capacity, not proof that the full amount has been spent.

Axios source

$367,272spent / reported

Data Center Coalition member companies -> North Carolina Connects -> North Carolina Connects ad campaign

Pro-developmentVerified secondary

NC Newsline reports 747 ad spots over about one month; attach FCC/ad-disclosure records when available for primary verification.

NC Newsline source

Funding table

Sortable relationship database

Search, filter, and open the underlying source for every tracked relationship.

PositionFunding typeStateSource qualityVerifiedSort

Showing 12 relationships. Numeric disclosure total in this filtered view: $175,367,272. Compare only records with the same money state.

Donor	Recipient	Amount	Funding type	Money state	Date	Position	Relevance	Campaign	State	Source	Verified
Leading the Future reported backers	Leading the Future	$125,000,000+raised / reported	Broader AI funding	raised	2026-01-15	Broader AI policy	broader ai policyindirect	None attached	National	Washington Post	Verified secondary70/100
Leading the Future reported backers	Build American AI	$50,000,000cash on hand / reported	Broader AI funding	cash on hand	2026-08-31	Pro-development	grassrootsdirect	Build American AI state campaign	Kansas / Ohio / Wisconsin	Axios	Verified secondary75/100
Data Center Coalition member companies	North Carolina Connects	$367,272spent / reported	Advertising	reported spent	2026-07-22	Pro-development	advertisingdirect	North Carolina Connects ad campaign	North Carolina	NC Newsline	Verified secondary82/100
Greg Brockman	Leading the Future	Amount not disclosedassociated	Political contribution	associated	2025-08-26	Broader AI policy	broader ai policyindirect	None attached	National	Washington Post	Verified secondary70/100
Anna Brockman	Leading the Future	Amount not disclosedassociated	Political contribution	associated	2025-08-26	Broader AI policy	broader ai policyindirect	None attached	National	Sludge	Verified secondary64/100
Marc Andreessen	Leading the Future	Amount not disclosedassociated	Political contribution	associated	2025-08-26	Broader AI policy	broader ai policyindirect	None attached	National	Wall Street Journal	Verified secondary70/100
Ben Horowitz	Leading the Future	Amount not disclosedassociated	Political contribution	associated	2025-08-26	Broader AI policy	broader ai policyindirect	None attached	National	Wall Street Journal	Verified secondary70/100
Data Center Coalition member companies	Data Center Coalition	Amount not disclosedassociated	Trade association funding	associated	2026-07-22	Pro-development	direct data centerdirect	North Carolina Connects ad campaign	North Carolina	Data Center Coalition	Partially verified68/100
Data Center Coalition member companies	Virginia Connects	Amount not disclosedassociated	Trade association funding	associated	2026-09-08	Pro-development	direct data centerdirect	Virginia Connects	Virginia	Virginia Connects	Partially verified70/100
Data Center Coalition member companies	Pennsylvania Connects	Amount not disclosedassociated	Trade association funding	associated	2026-09-03	Pro-development	direct data centerdirect	Pennsylvania Connects	Pennsylvania	Sludge	Reported, unverified55/100
Data Center Coalition member companies	Connected Ohio	Amount not disclosedassociated	Trade association funding	associated	2026-09-03	Pro-development	direct data centerdirect	Connected Ohio	Ohio	Sludge	Reported, unverified55/100
Quadrature Climate Foundation	Sierra Club	Amount not disclosedreceived / grant lead	Foundation grant	associated	2026-04-01	Opposition-related	organizational general supportindirect	National data center moratorium letter	National	American Energy Institute	Reported, unverified35/100

Timeline

Major funding and influence events

2025-12

National data center moratorium coalition enters tracker

Opposition-related organizations are tracked as campaign participants separately from the funding they received for general organizational support.

American Energy Institute

2026-01

Leading the Future broader AI network funding

Broader pro-AI political fundraising is tracked separately from direct data center campaign spending.

Washington Post Wall Street Journal

2026-06

OpenAI discloses Data Center Bandwagon

Influence activity is logged as an evidence signal without assigning a dollar amount or conventional donor intent.

OpenAI

2026-07

North Carolina Connects ad campaign reported

A direct pro-data-center advertising expenditure is reported in North Carolina and appears in direct-spend aggregates.

NC Newsline

2026-08

Build American AI announces state campaign

Reported $50M cash on hand is labeled as available campaign capacity, not completed spending.

Axios Inc.

Source trail system

secondaryExclusive: AI advocacy group launches data center push in battleground statesAxios · 2026-08-31 · checked 2026-09-08

secondaryAI Money Floods State Fights Over Data CentersSludge · 2026-09-03 · checked 2026-09-08

secondaryOpenAI and a16z Leaders Are Spending $50 Million to Persuade These 3 States to Build Giant AI Data CentersInc. · 2026-09-01 · checked 2026-09-08

secondaryPro-data center group trying to change opinions in NC with ad campaignNC Newsline · 2026-07-22 · checked 2026-09-08

organization statementNews and ResourcesData Center Coalition · Undated · checked 2026-09-08

organization statementAbout UsVirginia Connects · Undated · checked 2026-09-08

Reported aggregate claims

$39M+ reported foreign funding to organizations involved in data center opposition

This is not $39M spent opposing data centers. It is a reported aggregate of foreign funding received by organizations that later participated in data-center opposition or moratorium activity.

American Energy Institute · Reported, unverified · 45/100American Energy Institute source

Influence operations

Data Center Bandwagon

OpenAI disclosed influence activity it labeled Data Center Bandwagon. It is tracked as nonfinancial influence activity, not as a donor-recipient funding relationship.

OpenAI-reported likely PRC-origin influence operation · Partially verified · 60/100OpenAI source

Future research queue

Data Center Coalition

Identify the funding sources behind Data Center Coalition state campaigns.

High priority · Open

Opposition coalition organizations

Trace Form 990 grants to organizations involved in data center moratorium campaigns.

High priority · Open

Leading the Future

Track expenditures that specifically mention data centers or AI infrastructure.

High priority · Open

Utilities and grid advocates

Find lobbying disclosures involving data center permitting, cost allocation, and utility rates.

Medium priority · Open

Local opposition groups

Identify whether local groups receive national organizational support or shared campaign materials.

Medium priority · Open