Follow the Money 💰

AI companies are spending record amounts to shape regulation. Track every dollar of lobbying spend at federal and state levels.

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AI Overview

AI companies have poured $225M+ into federal lobbying since 2020 — a 2,700% increase from 2013 levels. But lobbying is just part of the story: add PAC contributions and campaign spending, and the total political footprint of AI companies exceeds $500M. Meta alone accounts for $53.9M in lobbying, more than the next three companies combined.

$225M

Total AI Lobbying (2024-2026)

$35.2M

Q1 2026

Top Spenders Tracked

Issue Areas

Quarterly Spending Trend

Total AI Lobbying by Quarter

$18.2M

Q1 2024

$20.5M

Q2 2024

$22.8M

Q3 2024

$24.1M

Q4 2024

$21.5M

Q1 2025

$24.8M

Q2 2025

$27.2M

Q3 2025

$30.5M

Q4 2025

$35.2M

Q1 2026

All-Time Top Spenders

1.Meta

$53.9M

2.Amazon

$35.2M

3.Google

$23.5M

4.Microsoft

$22.3M

5.Nvidia

$12.6M

6.Palantir

$4.5M

7.Anthropic

$1.6M

8.OpenAI

$1.5M

9.IBM

$1.5M

10.ByteDance/TikTok

$1.4M

Q1 2026 — Top Spenders

1Meta

$7.1M

2Amazon

$4.4M

3Google

$2.9M

4Microsoft

$2.8M

5Nvidia

$2.1M

6Palantir

$1.8M

7Anthropic

$1.6M

8OpenAI

$1.5M

9IBM

$1.5M

10ByteDance/TikTok

$1.4M

Q1 2026 — By Issue Area

Federal Preemption$8.5M

AI Safety & Standards$6.2M

Energy & Data Centers$5.0M

Healthcare AI$4.2M

National Security AI$4.0M

Data Privacy$3.8M

Intellectual Property$3.5M

AI Lobbying Growth: A Decade of Expansion

From $1.8M in 2013 to $70M+ projected for 2026 — AI lobbying has exploded.

2013

$1.8M

35 lobbyists

AI largely academic; minimal federal lobbying presence

2014

$2.2M

42 lobbyists

Google acquires DeepMind — AI enters mainstream tech M&A

2015

$2.8M

55 lobbyists

OpenAI founded

2016

$3.5M

68 lobbyists

Obama White House releases national AI R&D strategic plan

2017

$4.2M

85 lobbyists

AI caucus formed in Congress

2018

$5.5M

105 lobbyists

Trump signs American AI Initiative executive order

2019

$7.0M

130 lobbyists

National AI Initiative Act introduced

2020

$8.5M

155 lobbyists

National AI Initiative Act passes as part of NDAA

2021

$11.0M

190 lobbyists

NAII office established

2022

$15.0M

260 lobbyists

ChatGPT launches November 2022 — inflection point for public AI awareness

2023

$27.0M

450 lobbyists

Senate AI Insight Forum hearings with Altman, Zuckerberg, Musk

2024

$42.0M

650 lobbyists

AI lobbying filings up 35% from 2023

2025

$55.0M

920 lobbyists

Trump rescinds Biden AI Executive Order

2026

$32.0M

980 lobbyists

On pace for $70M+ full-year spending (Q1 data extrapolated)

💰 2026 Midterm Money

AI-aligned PACs are spending big to shape the next Congress.

Fairshake$78.0M

Backed by: Coinbase, Ripple, Andreessen Horowitz

TBD — multiple primary targets (U.S. House TX-32)

$3.5M

TBD — multiple primary targets (U.S. Senate (multiple))

$15.0M

Public First Action$20.0M

Backed by: Anthropic

Julie Johnson (U.S. House TX-32)

$4.0M

Various Texas candidates (U.S. House TX-24)

$3.0M

Various Texas candidates (U.S. House TX-34)

$2.5M

Defending Our Values PAC$8.5M

Backed by: Tech industry executives and donors

Various swing district candidates (U.S. House (multiple))

$2.0M

Jobs and Democracy PAC$5.2M

Backed by: Tech and labor coalition

Various candidates (U.S. House (multiple swing districts))

$1.5M

TechNet PAC$4.2M

Backed by: TechNet

Various incumbents on tech committees (U.S. House and Senate (multiple))

$1.8M

Various incumbents on tech committees (U.S. House and Senate (multiple))

$1.0M

View full PAC tracker →

PAC Spending Overview

Fairshake (2024)$116.0M

Coinbase, Ripple, Andreessen Horowitz, and other crypto/AI firms

Fairshake (2026)$78.0M

Coinbase, Ripple, Andreessen Horowitz

Protect Progress (2024)$42.0M

Affiliated with Fairshake — crypto/AI defense PAC

Public First Action (2026)$20.0M

Anthropic

Defending Our Values PAC (2026)$8.5M

Tech industry executives and donors

Jobs and Democracy PAC (2026)$5.2M

Tech and labor coalition

TechNet PAC (2024)$3.8M

TechNet (formerly Internet Association PAC merged)

TechNet PAC (2026)$4.2M

TechNet

Enforcement Penalties

18 enforcement actions tracked — $53.4M in total penalties.

Amazon (Alexa/Ring)(FTC, 2023-05)

$30.8M

OpenAI(Italy DPA (Garante), 2024-12)

$15.0M

NGL Labs(FTC, 2024-07)

$5.0M

accessiBe(FTC, 2024-06)

$1.0M

Automators AI / Ecommerce Empire Builders(FTC, 2024-04)

$650K

iTutorGroup(EEOC, 2023-08)

$365K

Delphia(SEC, 2024-03)

$225K

DoNotPay(FTC, 2024-03)

$193K

Global Predictions(SEC, 2024-03)

$175K

View full enforcement database →

Total Political Footprint

Lobbying + PAC contributions + campaign donations combined.

1.Meta Platforms

Score: 40/100$25.1M

2.Anthropic

Score: 15/100$24.0M

3.Amazon

Score: 29/100$18.0M

4.TechNet

Score: 9/100$12.1M

5.Google / Alphabet

Score: 19/100$12.0M

6.Microsoft

Score: 18/100$11.1M

7.Nvidia

Score: 13/100$8.0M

8.Palantir Technologies

Score: 11/100$7.0M

9.IBM

Score: 13/100$6.0M

10.Oracle

Score: 9/100$5.5M

Data sources: Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings, OpenSecrets.org, FEC records.
Figures represent reported lobbying expenditures related to AI policy issues.