Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, has spent the last few months cozying up to the Trump administration, attending his inauguration and launching a data-center project that President Trump mentioned in Tuesday’s address to Congress.
Some conservative critics of Mr. Altman, though, have sought in recent weeks to highlight his past ties to Democrats. Mr. Altman had been a longtime Democratic donor, but he had stepped away from large political giving as his profile grew, and especially so since his brief ouster as OpenAI’s chief executive in late 2023.
Now, a fund-raising invitation obtained by The New York Times shows Mr. Altman is getting back into the political fund-raising game, at least for one afternoon. He is set to host a fund-raiser in San Francisco this month for Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat up for re-election in 2026 in Virginia.
The event is Altman’s first known hosted political fund-raiser since the 2022 cycle. That was around the time when Mr. Altman was researching if there could be a viable Democratic primary challenge to President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Mr. Altman made some small contributions in the 2024 cycle, including to Republicans. He personally gave $1 million to Mr. Trump’s inaugural committee.
The event appears to have a focus on artificial intelligence: Mr. Warner is one of the most influential senators on tech and A.I. policy, and he has said he has a “lot of respect for Sam.” Mr. Altman and Mr. Warner have a longstanding friendship.
Tickets for the March 20 lunch range from $1,000 to $22,000. The other three hosts are Chris Lehane, Mr. Altman’s top political adviser, and two Democratic lobbyists, Matt Tanielian and Josh Ackil.
