OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia hit record lobbying spending in Q3

In short: Three major AI companies, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia, reported their biggest-ever lobbying spending in the July to September quarter.

What's going on

New federal disclosures show OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia each had record lobbying spending between July and September. Lobbying is when companies pay staff or hired firms to talk with government officials about laws and rules that could affect their business.

Nvidia spent $2.2 million during the quarter. Anthropic spent $2.1 million, and OpenAI spent $1.5 million. Together, that is nearly $6 million.

The amounts are not unusual compared with long established tech companies in Washington. The Verge notes Microsoft has spent at least $2 million per quarter since 2021, and Google often spends more than $3 million per quarter. Still, the new filings suggest these AI focused companies see government policy as a growing priority.

The filings also list what topics the companies discussed. Anthropic included a detailed list, including parts of the Kids Online Safety Act and rules about export controls, which are limits on what technology can be sold to other countries. OpenAI’s filing mentions areas like copyright and cybersecurity evaluations for “frontier models” (the most powerful AI systems, like the top models from leading labs). Nvidia’s filing includes topics such as export control policy, competition policy, and “responsible AI design.”

What to watch

AI rules are likely to stay a major focus as elections approach and as lawmakers debate issues like child safety online, national security, and the energy use of data centers (the large buildings full of computers that run AI services). If more bills move forward, expect these companies to keep spending to make their case.

Source: The Verge AI