{"slug": "openai-and-anthropic-now-out-lobby-nvidia-in-washington", "title": "OpenAI and Anthropic now out-lobby Nvidia in Washington", "summary": "OpenAI and Anthropic set records for federal lobbying in the second quarter of 2026, spending a combined $3.17 million, up 23% from the first quarter, according to CNBC. Anthropic spent $1.97 million, surpassing Nvidia and approaching Oracle's $2 million, while OpenAI spent $1.2 million, nearly matching Nvidia's $1.25 million. The AI labs are ramping up lobbying ahead of blockbuster IPOs and the November midterms, focusing on cybersecurity, copyright, cloud computing, and defense procurement.", "body_md": "The AI industry is buying a bigger seat at the table. OpenAI and Anthropic set records for federal lobbying in the second quarter of 2026, [CNBC reported](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/21/openai-anthropic-ai-lobbying-spending-q2-2026.html). Together they spent $3.17 million, up 23% from the first quarter.\n\n## Startups outspending giants\n\nThe individual numbers are the striking part. Anthropic spent $1.97 million, up 26% in three months. That is more than Nvidia managed, and close to Oracle’s $2 million.\n\nOpenAI spent $1.2 million, up almost 18%. It came within $50,000 of Nvidia, which spent $1.25 million. Compared with a year ago, Anthropic’s spending has more than doubled and OpenAI’s has nearly doubled.\n\nThe two firms told Congress they lobbied on cybersecurity, [copyright](https://thenextweb.com/news/anthropic-1-5-billion-copyright-settlement-approved), cloud computing, and defence procurement. The timing is not subtle. Both are heading towards blockbuster IPOs and want a friendly reception in [Washington](https://thenextweb.com/news/white-house-dictating-frontier-ai-model-access-anthropic-openai) before the November midterms.\n\n## Big Tech holds steady\n\nThe established players are not racing to match them. Five of the “Magnificent Seven” plus Nvidia and Tesla spent a combined $21.25 million in the quarter, almost exactly flat on the previous three months.\n\nMeta led the pack at $5.99 million, though that was down 15%. Amazon held steady near $4.36 million. Google climbed 25% to $3.57 million and Microsoft rose 13% to $2.69 million. Their common causes: trade, China, taxes, and export controls.\n\n## Defence pulls back\n\nThe contrast with defence is sharper. The eight largest US defence contractors cut their combined spending 3.3% to $19.68 million. Lockheed Martin led at $4.18 million, followed by RTX and General Dynamics.\n\nL3Harris posted the steepest drop, down almost 45%. Boeing was the outlier, lifting its spending 13% to $2.77 million.\n\n## Buying a voice\n\nThe dollar figures still favour the incumbents. Meta alone outspends both AI labs combined. But the direction of travel matters more than the totals.\n\nOpenAI and Anthropic are pouring money into policy just as they face copyright suits, export controls, and a live fight over how much AI should be [regulated](https://thenextweb.com/news/ai-godfathers-frontier-ai-regulation-converge). It mirrors OpenAI’s recent run of [policy hires](https://thenextweb.com/news/openai-dean-ball-shazeer-pre-ipo-hires-policy), and it echoes the wider [China](https://thenextweb.com/news/bessent-china-ai-sanctions-huang-defends) and export-control fights shaping the sector. The industry that wants to rewrite the economy is learning to work the capital first.\n\n## Get the TNW newsletter\n\nGet the most important tech news in your inbox each week.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-and-anthropic-now-out-lobby-nvidia-in-washington", "canonical_source": "https://thenextweb.com/news/openai-anthropic-record-lobbying-q2", "published_at": "2026-07-22 13:28:51+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-22 14:01:18.050461+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy", "ai-startups"], "entities": ["OpenAI", "Anthropic", "Nvidia", "Oracle", "Meta", "Amazon", "Google", "Microsoft"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-and-anthropic-now-out-lobby-nvidia-in-washington", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-and-anthropic-now-out-lobby-nvidia-in-washington.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-and-anthropic-now-out-lobby-nvidia-in-washington.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-and-anthropic-now-out-lobby-nvidia-in-washington.jsonld"}}