OpenAI and Anthropic are breaking their own lobbying records as IPOs loom

Anthropic's quarterly tab came to $1.97 million, reflecting a 26% jump from Q1, while OpenAI logged $1.2 million, roughly 18% more than the prior quarter, according to CNBC. That put the two companies' combined year-over-year spending at roughly double what each had outlaid in the same stretch of 2025.

Taken together, Anthropic's first- and second-quarter filings put its 2026 half-year total above $3.5 million — a figure that already surpasses the $3.1 million it reported for the entirety of 2025, according to Bloomberg Government. Their filings listed policy areas such as cybersecurity, copyright, cloud computing, and defense procurement among the subjects they sought to influence.

The spending puts Anthropic and OpenAI in closer competition with Washington's established corporate lobbying operations. Anthropic's haul eclipsed Nvidia $NVDA's and nearly reached Oracle $ORCL's $2 million mark, while OpenAI landed just under $50,000 behind Nvidia's $1.25 million figure.

The two companies are spending at a time when the AI industry is under intensifying scrutiny in Washington. Policymakers are weighing how far to go to regulate the fast-evolving technology, with proposals ranging from voluntary compliance frameworks to partial government ownership of AI companies. The AI industry has also committed at least $265 million through super PACs to influence the regulatory landscape ahead of the midterms.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order requesting tech companies to allow the U.S. government a voluntary 30-day review period for AI models before public release. Critics, including Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia, co-chair of the Congressional AI caucus, called the order insufficient, saying it "mirrors the Trump Administration's broader pattern of creating a wild west environment for AI development."

A broader look at major tech firms shows Meta $META, Amazon $AMZN, Google $GOOGL, Microsoft $MSFT, and Nvidia collectively tallied $21.25 million in federal lobbying for the quarter — a figure that held nearly flat against Q1. Meta topped the list at $5.99 million, with Amazon close behind at $4.36 million.