AI Giants Hit Record Lobbying Spend to Shape Regulatory Framework

Federal disclosures reveal that Nvidia, Anthropic, and OpenAI each recorded their highest-spending lobbying quarters between July and September, as first reported by The Verge. Collectively, the three firms spent nearly $6 million during this period, with Nvidia leading at $2.2 million, followed by Anthropic at $2.1 million and OpenAI at $1.5 million.

This spending surge comes as AI firms seek to embed their interests into emerging rules. Anthropic specifically targeted the AI Overwatch Act's export controls, the Kids Online Safety Act, the Ratepayer Protection Act regarding data center energy costs, and an executive order from President Donald Trump that renamed AI as “Super Intelligence.”

OpenAI's efforts focused on copyright, antitrust protections for information sharing, AI safety oversight, and cybersecurity evaluations for frontier models. According to The Verge, OpenAI engaged with the White House, Congress, the State Department, the Commerce Department, and the Small Business Administration. Meanwhile, Nvidia lobbied federal agencies and Congress on competition policy, export controls, 6G networks, quantum computing, and “responsible AI design.”

While these figures are lower than the quarterly spends of established giants like Google (over $3 million) and Microsoft (at least $2 million since 2021), they mark a significant escalation for the AI trio. OpenAI had not spent $1 million in a single quarter until this year, and Nvidia has never previously exceeded $2 million in a quarter.

This activity coincides with high-level political engagement, including a late-September White House lunch with President Trump that resulted in a “morally binding” AI safety accord. The Verge notes that this push occurs as the industry prepares for midterm elections and the potential for Democrats to regain some congressional control, which may increase pressure to crack down on the sector.