OpenAI, Anthropic and Nvidia Post Record Quarterly Lobbying Spending in US
AI firms OpenAI, Anthropic and Nvidia each spent more on US federal lobbying in July–September than in any previous quarter. Nvidia spent $2.2 million, Anthropic $2.1 million and OpenAI $1.5 million.
Three leading artificial intelligence companies – chipmaker Nvidia, AI developer Anthropic and ChatGPT maker OpenAI – spent more on US federal lobbying in the third quarter of this year (July to September) than in any earlier quarter. The figures, taken from federal disclosures, point to the industry's growing effort to shape policy in Washington.
How much was spent
Nvidia put $2.2 million into lobbying, Anthropic $2.1 million and OpenAI $1.5 million. Next to other large tech companies with long-established Washington operations, the amounts are not unusual: Microsoft has spent at least $2 million a quarter since 2021, and Google regularly spends more than $3 million. Apple also set a record at $3.1 million, the first time it has reported more than $3 million in a quarter.
OpenAI did not spend $1 million in a single quarter until this year, and did not top half a million until the end of 2024. Anthropic's highest quarterly figure last year was just over $1 million. This was Nvidia's first quarter above $2 million.
What they lobbied on
Anthropic's filing lists specific items: AI-related provisions in the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), export control provisions in the AI Overwatch Act, President Donald Trump's executive order renaming AI "Super Intelligence," and the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would place data center energy costs on their developers.
OpenAI lobbied Congress, the White House, the Small Business Administration and the Commerce and State Departments on cybersecurity evaluations for frontier models, AI safety oversight frameworks and antitrust protections for information sharing, as well as copyright. Nvidia addressed 6G networks, "responsible AI design," competition policy, quantum computing and export controls.
The disclosures come ahead of the US midterm elections. Democrats are expected to win back at least some control in Congress, and AI companies may find it even more important to engage with lawmakers who see cracking down on the industry as a winning issue.
