AI companies are spending record amounts on Washington lobbying, and the numbers are staggering

Silicon Valley has a new favorite product, and it’s not a chatbot or a chip. It’s a lobbyist. The AI industry’s spending on Washington influence operations has hit levels that would make even defense contractors raise an eyebrow. Major tech and AI firms collectively spent $109 million on lobbying in 2025, with total AI-related lobbying revenue reaching nearly $130 million for the year. And the pace is picking up: 11 leading companies dropped $41 million in just the first half of 2026, an increase of roughly 8% compared to the same period in 2025. In English: these companies are now spending more than $320,000 per congressional day trying to shape the rules of the AI game. Who’s writing the biggest checks Meta led the charge in the first half of 2025, spending a record $13.8 million on lobbying efforts. Eight major tech firms combined for $36 million during that same period. But the more interesting story is happening among the AI-native companies. Anthropic spent more than $3.5 million in the first half of 2026 alone. That already exceeds its full-year 2025 total of $3.1 million. OpenAI isn’t far behind. The ChatGPT maker spent $1.2 million in the second quarter of 2026, a record f...