OpenAI and Anthropic Fuel AI Lobbying Efforts as IPOs Loom

Two prominent AI companies, OpenAI and Anthropic, have established dedicated lobbying operations in Washington to shape AI legislation. This move comes as both companies prepare for potential initial public offerings (IPOs), with regulatory uncertainty a major concern for investors.

OpenAI has proposed a framework called 'reverse federalism,' which encourages consistent state-level AI legislation to create unified national standards through bottom-up convergence rather than top-down federal mandates. This approach would simplify the process of shipping products across multiple states.

Anthropic, on the other hand, is pushing for stringent safety mandates across multiple states. In 2025, it became the first major AI lab to endorse California's pioneering AI regulation law and has donated $20 million to a political group dedicated to advocating for robust AI safety measures.

The two companies' combined federal lobbying expenditures reached $3.17 million in the second quarter of 2026, a 23% increase over the prior quarter. Anthropic alone spent $1.97 million during this period, outpacing even Nvidia's lobbying outlay for the same time frame.