TLDR: Omidyar Network is significantly increasing its financial support for groups advocating for technology regulation, particularly at the state level, to counteract the powerful lobbying efforts of large tech companies. This pivot is driven by the rapid growth of generative AI and aims to ensure technology serves the public interest with adequate safeguards and guardrails. The network has committed substantial funds to various initiatives, including grants to advocacy groups, investments in ethical AI companies, and the establishment of a new $500 million fund.
The Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm founded by eBay creator Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, is intensifying its efforts to promote technology regulation, especially in response to the burgeoning generative artificial intelligence (AI) sector. The organization has shifted its focus to ‘technology’s role in society’ and is channeling increased funding to groups that advocate for state-level tech regulation, aiming to counterbalance the significant lobbying power of major tech corporations.
Anamitra Deb, Omidyar Network’s senior vice president of programs and policy, emphasized the network’s commitment, stating, ‘We think Big Tech and Big AI are tilting the playing field away from the public interest, and it’s really important for us to shore that up as much as we can.’ She added, ‘Someone has to be in the fight to make sure that we have some safeguards and guardrails.’
Since its inception in 2004, the Omidyar Network has invested $1.94 billion in various initiatives, including $1.12 billion in nonprofit grants and $739 million in for-profit entities. Despite its substantial backing, Deb acknowledges that their funding is ‘tiny drops in the bucket’ compared to the expenditures of the tech industry.
This strategic move comes as states increasingly become crucial battlegrounds for AI regulation due to federal inaction. This trend has met with opposition from the tech industry and venture capitalists, who argue that a fragmented state-by-state regulatory approach could stifle innovation, hinder startups, and diminish the U.S.’s competitive edge against countries like China.
Adam Kovacevich, founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress, a center-left tech industry policy coalition, noted Omidyar’s influence, calling them ‘one of the big players.’ He also suggested that Omidyar Network’s strategy involves creating an ‘echo chamber’ by investing in multiple nonprofit entities, even if they share a common funding source.
The Omidyar Network’s primary focus is California, where it has invested over $10 million in nonprofits, advocacy groups, research organizations, and private companies in the last 18 months. Notable grant recipients involved in Sacramento policymaking include California Common Cause, Common Sense Media, Economic Security Project Action, TechEquity, and Tech Oversight California.
These supported groups are already demonstrating results. The Tech Oversight Project, for instance, launched a California-focused initiative this year that championed seven legislative bills, including those regulating AI and social media, with all but one becoming law. California Common Cause, through its California Initiative for Technology and Democracy, supported twelve bills related to generative AI, automated decision-making, social media, and data privacy, with four signed into law.
Common Sense Media, another recipient, sponsored two California bills this year: one to regulate companion chatbots and another to mandate warning labels on social media. While Governor Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed the chatbot bill, the warning labels bill was signed. James Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, highlighted that Omidyar Network’s funding ‘has enabled us to deepen and expand our reach to policymakers and families in California, particularly with regard to protecting kids and teens from dangerous AI chatbots.’
Beyond California, the Omidyar Network extends its reach through initiatives like the Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund, a pooled effort with other philanthropies that awarded $2.4 million to 18 organizations nationwide this year. Other past recipients include the London-based 5Rights Foundation, Consumer Reports (active in privacy and AI regulation), and Public Citizen (focused on election deepfakes).
The network has also directly engaged in Sacramento policy debates, endorsing 17 AI-related bills in the California Legislature this year, covering areas such as transparency, accountability, consumer and worker protections, and antitrust. Nine of these measures, including a significant AI safety bill, were signed into law by Governor Newsom. Deb emphasized that ‘a very immediate metric of success is how many bills we can get signed.’
Furthermore, Omidyar Network has endorsed Kids Code laws, enacted in California, Maryland, and Nebraska, and supported the federal Kids Online Safety Act. It actively opposed a federal moratorium on state-level AI regulation that was considered by Congress.
Deb articulated the overarching goal: ‘We’re trying to make sure that common, everyday people have common-sense regulation so that they feel that technology is accessible, equitable, safe, and they have a say in how it works for them. And that’s what democracy’s about.’
In addition to grants, Omidyar Network acts as an ‘impact investor.’ Last year, in collaboration with the Ford Foundation and Nathan Cummings Foundation, it acquired nearly 50,000 shares in Anthropic, a prominent AI company known for its commitment to ‘transparency, accountability, and safety,’ according to Omidyar Network CEO Mike Kubzansky.
Other initiatives include a $25 million joint commitment with the Kapor Foundation and San Francisco Foundation for ‘equitable and ethical AI,’ a $30 million fund dedicated to the ‘responsible development of generative AI,’ and a partnership with the California Council on Science and Technology and the Kapor Foundation to establish a Legislative Academy on AI for California legislative staff.
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- Senator Bill Cassidy Advocates for AI-Powered Regulatory Framework to Oversee Emerging Technologies
This week, the Omidyar Network was announced as co-chair of a coalition of foundations launching a $500 million fund. This fund aims to support organizations working to ensure that ‘people and communities beyond Silicon Valley have a stake in the future of artificial intelligence.’
