Federal lobbying disclosures for July through September 2026 show a step change in Washington: Nvidia spent $2.2 million, Anthropic $2.1 million and OpenAI $1.5 million on federal lobbying in the third quarter — a quarterly record for each company, The Verge reported on October 22. Anthropic's figure is roughly double its highest quarterly total from 2025, and OpenAI did not clear $1 million in a quarter until this year.

A broader count by the Project On Government Oversight, which adds outside lobbying firms' filings, puts the three companies' combined third-quarter spending at about $7.5 million, up 22% from the previous quarter and roughly 60% from a year earlier. The three have spent about $37 million on federal lobbying since the start of 2024, with roughly half of it coming in 2026 alone.

The filings cover the fights now shaping the industry: child safety legislation including the Kids Online Safety Act, chip export controls, cybersecurity evaluations, copyright, and who pays for data-center power — Anthropic's disclosure lists the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would push data-center energy costs onto developers. Lawmakers have introduced at least 99 AI-related bills in the current Congress. The sums are still modest next to the incumbents — Microsoft has spent at least $2 million a quarter since 2021 and Google regularly exceeds $3 million — but the trajectory is the story.