AI Companies Spend Record Amount on Lobbying: California Brief

Spending on AI Lobbying Hits New Record

Spending on federal AI influence hit an all-time high last year. Lobbying firms reported a record $37.2 million in earnings from AI-related influence peddling in the fourth quarter, a 38% jump from a year earlier, according to a Bloomberg Government analysis.

For the full year, Washington lobbyists received almost $130 million for work related to AI, as Microsoft, Meta and Google led the spending blitz. Some of the biggest jumps came from OpenAI and Anthropic, two of the highest valued startups vying to shape the industry’s future, Kate Ackley, John Woolley and ...