GoKawiilA visitor watches an AI sign on an animated screen at the Mobile World Congress, the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona.
OpenAI and Anthropic increased their federal lobbying spending to record levels in the second quarter of 2026 as the artificial intelligence industry poured millions into influencing Washington ahead of the midterm elections and ahead of their highly anticipated IPOs.
Together, the two leading AI developers spent $3.17 million during the quarter, up 23% from the first three months of the year, according to federal lobbying disclosures.
Anthropic spent $1.97 million from April through June, up 26% from the first quarter. OpenAI spent $1.2 million, an increase of nearly 18%. The companies reported lobbying on issues including cybersecurity, copyright, cloud computing and defense procurement.
Monitoring lobbying spending, which companies must report quarterly to Congress, is a way to gauge which companies and industries are most active in influencing the federal government. Companies with interests in shaping legislation or regulation often ramp up their spending.
Established technology and defense companies still spend far more overall, but OpenAI and Anthropic are narrowing the gap with some of Washington's biggest corporate lobbying operations.
For example, Anthropic spent more on lobbying than Nvidia during the quarter and nearly matched Oracle’s $2 million total. OpenAI came within $50,000 of Nvidia, which spent $1.25 million.
Both AI companies also sharply increased their spending from the second quarter of last year: Anthropic's more than doubled, while OpenAI's nearly doubled.