Anthropic ramps up lobbying spending amid AI policy fights
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Anthropic spent more on lobbying in the first half of 2026 than it did all of last year, according to new federal lobbying disclosures.
Why it matters: Tech companies are pouring millions into lobbying as Washington's regulatory moves threaten to make or break AI industry players.
- Anthropic again outspent OpenAI on lobbying, trailing only the largest tech companies overall.
Driving the news: Anthropic spent nearly $2 million on lobbying in Q2, focusing on export controls, cybersecurity and AI safety standards, among other issues.
- Company lobbyists met with lawmakers in both chambers of Congress, as well as officials at the White House, Commerce Department and Treasury Department.
- Anthropic has already spent more than $3.5 million in the first half of this year, a sharp increase from the $3.1 million it spent during all of 2025.
- The company also disclosed lobbying on Defense Department procurement, funding for the Energy Department's Genesis Mission and AI in health care.
Zoom in: Anthropic's engagement with the Trump administration reached an inflection point last month when Commerce imposed export controls on the lab, leading to its models going dark and sparking a scramble to negotiate.
The big picture: The latest filings show that all of the major AI labs are tracking government AI safety standards and regulatory approaches closely.
- OpenAI, which also faced government delays on the rollout of its latest model and posted its biggest-ever quarterly lobbying total, spent $1.2 million in Q2.
- The company disclosed lobbying on copyright, cloud computing and infrastructure, cybersecurity and privacy.
- Google spent $3.57 million, while Microsoft reported $2.69 million.
By the numbers: Meta is consistently the biggest tech lobbying spender and Q2 of this year was no different, with the company doling out $5.99 million.
- Company lobbyists focused on online child safety, privacy, AI transparency and energy infrastructure, among other issues.
- Meta is also the frequent target of bipartisan congressional scrutiny into a lack of child protections online, a longtime issue that's clashing with its chatbot ambitions.
The bottom line: AI companies are investing heavily in lobbying Washington as the Trump administration's decisions directly shape how they build and deploy advanced AI.
