Anthropic donates $20 million to lobbying group supporting AI regulation

AI startup Anthropic is donating another $20 million to Public First Action, a pro-regulation lobbying group, bringing its yearly total to $40 million. The donation highlights a surge in AI lobbying, with Anthropic and rival OpenAI spending a record $3.17 million in Q2 2026. This growing influence campaign, which pits factions of Silicon Valley against each other, contrasts with flat spending from Big Tech and declining expenditures from defense contractors.

AI company lobbying spending

• ▪Anthropic's federal lobbying spending reached $1.97 million in Q2 2026, up 26% from the previous quarter
• ▪This donation brings Anthropic's total contributions to Public First Action to $40 million for the year, doubling its spending on the midterm elections
• ▪An Anthropic spokesperson stated the donation "cannot be used to influence the election of any candidate for federal, state or local office."
• ▪AI startup Anthropic is donating an additional $20 million to Public First Action, a political group supporting AI regulation
• ▪OpenAI's federal lobbying spending was $1.2 million in Q2 2026, an 18% increase from the first quarter
• ▪In the second quarter of 2026, Anthropic and OpenAI collectively spent a record $3.17 million on federal lobbying, a 23% increase from the first quarter
• ▪Public First Action was launched to counter the group Leading the Future, which opposes strict AI regulations and is backed by figures like Marc Andreessen

Big Tech lobbying expenditures

• ▪Anthropic's Q2 lobbying spending of $1.97 million surpassed Nvidia's and nearly matched Oracle’s $2 million total
• ▪Meta was the largest spender among the big tech group in Q2 at $5.99 million, while Google increased its spending by 25% to $3.57 million
• ▪In Q2 2026, five "Magnificent Seven" tech companies spent a combined $21.25 million on federal lobbying, nearly unchanged from the first quarter

Defense contractor lobbying trends

• ▪The eight largest U.S.-based defense contractors spent a combined $19.68 million on federal lobbying in Q2 2026, a 3.3% decrease from the prior quarter
• ▪Lockheed Martin was the top spender among defense contractors in Q2 2026 with $4.18 million in lobbying expenditures