Leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies are spending record amounts on lobbying in Washington to loosen regulations and influence AI regulations in the US, according to the Financial Times (FT).
Open AI has almost doubled its federal lobbying spending compared to last year, reaching $2.22 million in the first half of 2026, while Anthropic has almost tripled its spending to $3.53 million, according to official figures. Among the key lobbying issues is federal regulations for the release of new models. This topic has become particularly pressing for AI companies after the US used export controls to stop the spread of the Anthropic Fable model due to cybersecurity concerns. In addition, the companies want to influence policies for building data centers and energy supply, as well as rules for disclosing model parameters.
As the newspaper notes, artificial intelligence corporations have already tried unsuccessfully to convince Congress to prohibit AI regulation at the state level.