Meta tops spending again as AI lobbying heats up
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Meta was the top lobbying spender in the third quarter of 2025, and AI and semiconductor companies increased their quarterly spend, per federal filings.
Why it matters: Big Tech companies are still outspending companies focusing purely on AI and hardware, but the gaps are getting narrower.
By the numbers: Meta, Amazon and Google were the biggest tech lobbying spenders again this quarter, at $5.8 million, $4.4 million and $3.6 million, respectively.
- Apple and Microsoft spent $2.5 million and $2 million, respectively.
- All five companies have wide policy portfolios to lobby on, including AI issues, content moderation, digital taxes and trade, privacy, online safety, Section 230, European tech policies, and copyright.
The intrigue: Both Anthropic and Nvidia broke $1 million in lobbying in Q3 2025 for the first time.
- Nvidia spent $1.9 million lobbying in Q3 2025, tripling its Q2 spend of $620,000.
- Anthropic was up from $920,000 in Q2, landing at $1 million in Q3.
- AMD, meanwhile, upped its spending to $1.5 million from $1.1 million last quarter.
For AI-specific companies, lobbying issues in Q3 included AI policy, cloud computing, cybersecurity and copyright.
- Lobbying went beyond Congress. These companies made visits to the White House, the Department of Commerce, the Defense Department, Justice Department and others.
Anthropic, in its first $1 million quarter, lobbied on Trump's AI action plan executive orders on AI in education, data center infrastructure, preventing what the administration considers "woke AI" and promoting the American AI technology stack.
- The company also focused on the National Institute of Standards and Technology, export controls at the Bureau of Industry and Security, and the GAIN AI Act, which would require U.S. chipmakers to give U.S. buyers first dibs before international ones.
Nvidia lobbied on semiconductor trade policy and export control reform, quantum, energy, semiconductor design, workforce development and R&D.
AMD lobbied on the Chip Security Act, outbound investments, and the implementation of the CHIPS Act.
Andreessen Horowitz, registered as a16z, reached over $1 million in lobbying for the first time this quarter, too.
- The firm spent $1.3 million to talk digital assets, AI, tax, financial technology, open-source AI and the annual defense policy bill.
The Motion Picture Association, the Recording Industry Association and Disney lobbied on the NO FAKES Act, which would make companies and individuals liable for hosting and distributing deepfakes and replicas of people's voices and likeness without their permission.
- They all also lobbied on other AI, intellectual property and digital trade issues.
What we're watching: Companies appear to be flooding all parts of government, far beyond just the halls of Congress. We're curious to see if that ends up winning them the policies they want from this administration.
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