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Anthropic branding, as the company's Washington lobbying spend hits a record
Getty Images / CNBC
Brief

AI Labs Smash Lobbying Records: Anthropic Hits $1.97M, Now Outspending Nvidia in Washington

Q2 federal disclosures show Anthropic's lobbying spend jumped 26% to a record $1.97 million and OpenAI's rose 18% to $1.2 million, as the AI policy fights over export controls, state preemption and frontier rules intensify.

D
Daniel ParkAI Correspondent
2 min read

Federal disclosures for the second quarter of 2026 show the AI industry's Washington machine shifting into a higher gear, with the leading labs posting record spending as the policy stakes climb.

The numbers

  • Anthropic: $1.97 million, up 26 percent quarter over quarter — its highest ever, and more than it spent in all of 2025 when combined with Q1. The company now outspends Nvidia and is closing on Oracle's roughly $2 million.
  • OpenAI: $1.2 million, up nearly 18 percent.
  • Meta: $5.99 million, still the sector's largest spend despite falling 15 percent.
  • Amazon: $4.36 million.

What's driving it

Anthropic's surge followed the Commerce Department episode that forced it to temporarily disable its Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models over national security concerns; its lobbyists focused on export controls, cybersecurity and AI safety standards. IPO preparation and state-level regulatory fights add further motive. OpenAI's increase tracks its government equity proposal and litigation with Apple.

The spending lands as Washington juggles three live AI battles at once: the voluntary frontier framework due by August 1, the fight over banning Chinese open-weight models, and federal preemption of state AI laws.

The takeaway

The AI labs have completed their transformation from research outfits into fully fledged Washington players — Anthropic, OpenAI and Waymo together dropped a record $4.3 million in a single quarter. As one disclosure-watcher noted, legacy tech and defense lobbying is flat to down; the growth in influence spending is all AI. Where the money goes, the rules follow.

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