OpenAI and Anthropic spent a combined $3.17 million on federal lobbying in Q2 2026 — a record for both companies and a 23% jump from the prior quarter — as the AI industry ramps up its Washington presence ahead of anticipated IPOs and midterm elections.
OpenAI and Anthropic together spent $3.17 million on federal lobbying in the second quarter of 2026, a 23% increase from the first quarter and a record for both companies, according to federal lobbying disclosures.
Anthropic led the two with $1.97 million in spending from April through June — a 26% jump from the prior quarter and more than double what the company spent in the second quarter of 2025. OpenAI followed with $1.2 million, up nearly 18% from Q1 and nearly double its spending in the same period a year ago.
The two companies reported lobbying on issues including cybersecurity, copyright, cloud computing, and defense procurement.
The surge comes as both companies are preparing for highly anticipated initial public offerings and as the broader AI industry seeks to shape legislation and regulation ahead of the midterm elections.
Anthropic's $1.97 million outpaced Nvidia, which spent $1.25 million during the quarter, and nearly matched Oracle's $2 million total. OpenAI came within $50,000 of Nvidia's figure — a notable gap-closing for two companies that only recently established Washington presences.
Established technology giants, by contrast, held largely steady. An analysis of the "Magnificent Seven" — Meta, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla — found the group spent a combined $21.25 million on federal lobbying in Q2, essentially unchanged from $21.27 million in the first quarter.
Meta remained the largest single spender among them at $5.99 million, though that figure represented a 15% decline from Q1. Amazon held near flat at $4.36 million. Google increased its spending 25% quarter-over-quarter to $3.57 million, while Microsoft raised its total nearly 13% to $2.69 million. Collectively, those companies reported lobbying on trade, China, taxes, and export controls, and boosted their combined spending 7.7% compared with Q2 of 2025.
Defense contractors moved in the opposite direction. The eight largest U.S.-based publicly traded defense contractors — ranked by fiscal 2024 Defense Department contract obligations — spent a combined $19.68 million on federal lobbying in Q2, down 3.3% from $20.36 million in Q1.
Lockheed Martin led that group at $4.18 million, followed by RTX at $3.86 million and General Dynamics at $3.42 million. RTX recorded the largest dollar-term decline, cutting spending by $600,000 from Q1. L3Harris posted the steepest percentage drop, reducing its spending nearly 45% to $530,000. Huntington Ingalls, Northrop Grumman, and Leidos also reported double-digit declines. Boeing was the lone standout among the group, increasing spending 13% to $2.77 million.
The contrasting trajectories — AI companies ramping up while legacy tech holds flat and defense contractors pull back — reflect a shifting center of gravity in corporate Washington. Federal lobbying disclosures, which companies are required to file quarterly with Congress, offer one of the clearest available signals of which industries are most actively seeking to influence policy.
With IPOs on the horizon for both OpenAI and Anthropic and Congress increasingly focused on AI governance, the two companies' continued acceleration in lobbying spending will be a closely watched indicator of how the AI sector intends to engage with Washington in the months ahead.
TechEchelon Staff bylines are produced collectively by the newsroom for short, breaking, and wire-style coverage. Longer-form reporting is published under the responsible reporter's name.
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