In the first quarter of 2026, Anthropic outspent OpenAI in their largest-ever lobbying efforts, with Anthropic spending $1.6 million compared to OpenAI’s $1 million, according to federal lobbying disclosures. This spending surge reflects a significant shift as both companies, which previously had little presence in Washington, are now actively engaging in political lobbying to advocate for important issues such as AI safety regulations and national security amid increasing federal scrutiny. Additionally, in early April 2026, Anthropic established a Political Action Committee (PAC) to further its AI policy priorities.

OpenAI: OpenAI develops frontier AI models like ChatGPT and focuses on enterprise applications and scaling general-purpose AI across industries. The company advances tools such as Codex and emphasizes the next phase of AI adoption. In Q1 2026, it recorded its largest lobbying expenditure to date, joining other AI leaders in Washington influence efforts.
Anthropic: Anthropic is an AI safety and research company working to build reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems through innovations like constitutional AI. It develops advanced models such as Claude that lead on challenging benchmarks including coding. In the first quarter of 2026, Anthropic outspent rivals on federal lobbying, marking its biggest-ever quarter amid rising policy engagement.

Regulation: AI firms advocate on issues like safety regulations and national security amid growing federal scrutiny.
Lobbying Trend: Frontier AI companies previously had minimal Washington presence but now align with Big Tech’s regular multimillion-dollar quarterly spends.
Political Engagement: Anthropic launched a PAC in early April 2026 to support its AI policy priorities.