Pro-AI Super PAC Network Paid Millions to Nevada Shell Companies

Millions Routed Through Nevada LLCs

A pro-AI super PAC network has paid roughly $20 million to a consulting company that appears to exist only as a post office box in a Sparks, Nevada shopping center, according to federal campaign finance records reviewed by WIRED. Lantern Production Consultants LLC received the money since last year from Think Big, one of the super PACs funded by Leading the Future PAC, for services including polling, digital advertising, research and strategy.

Lantern is one of four Nevada LLCs that have received payments from the Leading the Future network, which also includes American Mission. The network has raised more than $140 million to influence campaigns aligned with AI industry priorities ahead of the midterm elections. Summit Ridge Media Group LLC received about $13 million between December 2025 and September 2026 and lists an address at a mail center in a Reno strip mall. Blue Horizon Compliance Consultants lists a Staples location in Reno, and Prusik Partners LLC lists a Henderson strip mall shared with a chiropractor and a beauty salon. Nevada's secretary of state told WIRED it could not locate records for the businesses.

Watchdog Alleges Shell Company Scheme

The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission in May, alleging that Think Big and American Mission violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by failing to disclose the actual recipients of their payments. Lawyers wrote that the LLCs "function as mere extensions of the super PACs they serve." Senior legal counsel Shanna Ports said the arrangement is about hiding where the money is going.

However, the FEC has lacked a quorum of four commissioners since May 2025 and cannot decide on the complaint. Kyle Morse, deputy executive director of the Tech Oversight Project, said the public is not fundamentally equipped to figure out what is happening.

Backers, Denials and a Broader Pattern

Leading the Future is the best funded pro-AI group, with backing from billionaires Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz and OpenAI president Greg Brockman. Its network backs both parties, with Think Big funding Democrats and American Mission funding Republicans. Spokesperson Jesse Hunt said the network complies with all applicable laws and called the complaint a desperate ploy by groups aligned with Anthropic and Public First. Public First said it had nothing to do with the complaint. Anthropic did not respond.

Campaign Legal Center, which has filed similar complaints against congressional candidate Brandon Herrera and Lead Left PAC, said the suggestion it acted at any outside direction is absolutely false. Ports warned of a disturbing trend in which voters lack fundamental information about where money is coming from and where it is going.

Sources: Wired