The Pulse
OpenAI, Anthropic and Nvidia Set Lobbying Records in Q3
OpenAI, Anthropic and Nvidia each reached a new quarterly high for federal lobbying expenses between July and September, with their combined spending nearing $6 million. Their filings name issues including AI safety, cybersecurity, export c
AI.info Team · Written with AI · fact-checked ·
Federal lobbying filings posted on October 20 show OpenAI, Anthropic and Nvidia each reaching a new quarterly high for spending between July and September. Together, they spent nearly $6 million, with cybersecurity, AI oversight, export controls, child safety and energy among the issues listed.
The figures put three companies whose products and infrastructure are central to the AI sector into a closer contest for influence in Washington. Nvidia reported $2.15 million, Anthropic $2.11 million and OpenAI $1.53 million. The totals reflect reported lobbying expenses; the filings identify topics and government bodies, but do not establish whether a company supported or opposed each measure.
OpenAI’s filing names cybersecurity and information sharing
OpenAI’s $1.53 million filing covers work with Congress, the White House, the Commerce and State departments, and the Small Business Administration. Its listed subjects include frontier-model cybersecurity evaluations, federal AI safety and oversight frameworks, copyright, and antitrust protections related to AI-security information sharing.
The filing follows a sharp rise in the company’s reported quarterly spending. OpenAI did not exceed $1 million in a quarter until 2026, according to The Verge. The filing describes its lobbying topics, but it does not say what positions the company took in discussions about them.
Anthropic lists bills on safety, exports and data-center costs
Anthropic reported $2.11 million, its highest quarterly figure since it began lobbying in 2024. Its filing names measures including the Kids Online Safety Act, the AI OVERWATCH Act, and the Ratepayer Protection Act, which addresses energy costs tied to data centers. It also lists the Collaboration on Adversarial Threats and Security Risks Act, a proposal concerning information sharing among AI companies.
The filing names the House, Senate and White House as government bodies contacted. The entries span child safety, export controls, security coordination and energy infrastructure, placing policy questions around AI development alongside the practical demands of building and powering data centers.
Nvidia’s record spans chips, networks and AI design
Nvidia’s filing reports $2.15 million in third-quarter expenses, its first quarter above $2 million. It lists semiconductor trade policy, export controls and the Chip Security Act, as well as work on AI, quantum computing, 6G networks and what the filing calls responsible AI design.
The three companies’ combined total is significant, but it does not make them the quarter’s largest technology lobbyists. The Verge reported that Apple spent $3.1 million and Google more than $3 million in the same period; Microsoft reported at least $2 million per quarter over several years. The records show AI-focused firms expanding their Washington operations, not overtaking every established technology company in spending.
Issue lists do not reveal the companies’ positions
Lobbying disclosures are a map of subjects raised with government officials, not a transcript of meetings or a record of the arguments made. Semafor noted that filings on AI information-sharing and antitrust protections do not state whether companies backed or opposed the proposals. Readers therefore cannot infer a company’s position from a bill’s appearance on its disclosure alone.
For the quarter ending September 30, the filings show where OpenAI, Anthropic and Nvidia directed attention and money: from model cybersecurity and safety frameworks to chip exports, children’s online protections and data-center power costs. Their reported individual records—$1.53 million, $2.11 million and $2.15 million—are the clearest measure of how much each put into federal lobbying during the period.
“The disclosures show that leading AI companies are becoming increasingly active in policymaking, in a quarter that marks a lead-up to the midterm elections.”
— Lauren Feiner, senior policy reporter at The Verge