OpenAI, Anthropic boost lobbying as legacy tech and defense spending slips

OpenAI and Anthropic increased their federal lobbying spending to record levels in the second quarter of 2026, spending a combined $3.17 million to influence Washington on issues like cybersecurity, copyright, and defense procurement ahead of midterm elections and their planned IPOs. While established tech and defense companies still spend more overall, these AI developers are rapidly closing the gap with major corporate lobbying operations, with both companies roughly doubling their spending compared to the same quarter last year.