Technology, artificial intelligence, and prediction market companies spent record sums lobbying Washington in the first half of 2026. New federal disclosures filed this month show the scale of the push.
Anthropic nearly tripled its federal lobbying, outpacing rival OpenAI by more than $1 million.
Anthropic Outspends OpenAI on Federal Lobbying
The Financial Times reported that Anthropic nearly tripled its lobbying expenditure to $3.53 million. The firm added the Treasury Department to its list of lobbied agencies for the first time this quarter.
OpenAI nearly doubled its own spend to a record $2.22 million. Federal rules on new model releases now sit at the top of the industry agenda. Companies also want influence over data center construction, power supply, and more.
“The lobbying offensive has been as much about deterring regulation as making the case for an affirmative government industrial policy that supports the industry,” Amba Kak, co-executive director of AI Now Institute, said.
Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens
Issue One Counts 324 Lobbyists Across Six Companies
Overall, Issue One counted $41 million in combined spending from January to June. That covers 11 major technology, social media, and AI companies and their trade associations.
The total works out to more than $226,000 per day. The figure rose 8% from $38 million in the same period of 2025.
Six of those companies retained 324 lobbyists during the second quarter alone. The group covers Alphabet, Anthropic, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI. That equals roughly one lobbyist for every 1.5 members of Congress.
Meta led second-quarter spending at nearly $6 million. Alphabet followed with $5.3 million, Microsoft with about $3 million, and Nvidia with $1.25 million.
Anthropic reported $1.97 million in lobbying spending for the quarter, its highest since it began lobbying in March 2024. OpenAI spent $1.2 million over the same three months. Notably, four years ago, Anthropic, Nvidia, and OpenAI had no federal lobbyists.
The spending is not limited to tech and AI companies. Prediction market operators have also stepped up their efforts in Washington.
BeInCrypto reported that Kalshi spent $990,000 on lobbying in the first half of 2026. Including outside firms, its total reached nearly $1.8 million. Polymarket keeps a smaller footprint.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch leaders and journalists provide expert insights
Bitrue