Spending on lobbying related to artificial intelligence is surging in Washington, fueled by Big Tech and a growing number of smaller startups seeking a larger voice in the debate.

K Street generated more than $53 million in AI-related lobbying revenues in the first quarter of 2026, a 36% jump from the same period last year. Microsoft Corp., Meta Platforms, Inc., OpenAI, and Anthropic PBC were among the biggest spenders, but more than 100 newcomers hired lobbyists for the first time as battles over data centers, copyright, and AI safety heat up on Capitol Hill and in the White House, according to a Bloomberg Government analysis.

Photo Illustration: Ava Mandoli/Bloomberg Government; Photos: Getty Images

The technology’s rapid adoption within industry, education, healthcare, and in households across the globe means that interest in AI policy touches nearly every policy domain and corner of the economy. And as Washington takes a more active role in AI regulation, new stakeholders are eager to weigh in.

• “The acceleration tracks with what’s happening on the policy side. A year ago, companies were lobbying on AI in the abstract,” said Joseph Hoefer, a principal and chief AI officer at Monument Advocacy, which represents Amazon.com, Inc., Accenture, and Waymo LLC among other tech stalwarts.

Many of the AI startups and other organizations — including universities, nonprofits, and advocacy groups — turning to K Street for the first time aren’t necessarily focused on advancing specific legislation. Some are looking to cash in on a federal push to accelerate the deployment of AI tools across government, and are enlisting lobbyists to pitch themselves to procurement officials. Others are just trying to keep up with the state of play in Washington.

• One lesser-known company spending big this year is Coretsu Inc., a startup focused on providing AI tools to the government. Coretsu shelled out $610,000 to five lobbying firms during the first quarter. That was behind only Microsoft and was more than major AI platforms Anthropic and OpenAI.

Not every K Street newcomer is dropping six figures:

• Drone manufacturer Lucid Bots Inc., paid AxAdvocacy Government Relations $30,000 for its services last quarter.
• Character AI Inc., which allows users to design AI avatars, paid the law and lobbying firm Hogan Lovells $40,000 during the first quarter.
• AI law enforcement startup Tranquility AI Inc. sent Continental Strategy $51,000 during the first three months of the year. Read More

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The U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

K Street powerhouse Invariant is spinning off a new government relations shop, as lobbyists prepare for a potential avalanche of business after the midterms, firm leaders shared first with Bloomberg Government.

The new firm, Determinant, will open its doors on July 1. It will operate independently from Invariant, but the two shops will maintain a strategic relationship, and Determinant will serve as Invariant’s “go-to government relations firm in DC” for client referrals, said Invariant founder Heather Podesta.

Lobbyist Mary Beth Stanton, a former Democratic Hill staffer who was one of Invariant’s first employees, will serve as CEO of the new firm. Paul Nemetz, Podesta’s longtime chief of staff, will also join the new firm as a director. Read More

The cryptocurrency industry’s signature super PAC, Fairshake, racked up a big-money win in a Maryland contest this week to replace Rep. Steny Hoyer, while artificial intelligence-linked groups dueled over a New York seat.

• The two sectors’ mounting presence in midterm races around the country have grabbed the attention of candidates from both parties, fueling debates about money in politics and the future of regulations governing the emerging technologies. AI and other industries are following crypto’s big-spending election playbook ahead of the November elections, election lawyers and campaign finance overhaul advocates say.

Fairshake’s Democratic affiliate, Protect Progress, backed Democrat Adrian Boafo to succeed Hoyer in Maryland’s deep-blue 5th District, shelling out more than $5 million to boost the former Oracle Corp. lobbyist and one-time aide to Hoyer, Federal Election Commission filings show. Boafo’s win Tuesday also came after big spending in support of him from other outside groups including one aligned with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Read More

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado

Photographer: Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty Images

Nobel Peace Prize winner and Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado has retained Rafael Alfonzo of the firm RP&B Consulting, a recent Foreign Agents Registration Act filing shows.

Alfonzo, who referred comment to a Machado spokesperson, will advise the opposition leader for a year and will receive no compensation, according to the filing. Machado’s spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

• “The registrant’s activities may include engagement and communications with the United States Government, its agencies, and other organizations in furtherance of the foreign principal’s interests related to democracy, human rights, and public policy matters concerning Venezuela,” the filing states.

Machado said this year that she is coordinating her return to the country with the US, Bloomberg reported, and that would put to the test acting President Delcy Rodríguez’s tolerance for dissent.

Machado met with President Donald Trump early this year as part of a push for greater influence in the wake of Nicolas Maduro’s ouster at the hands of American troops, Bloomberg reported.

Credit cards

Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

First in Power Play: The Merchants Payments Coalition and two dozen other retailer lobbying groups sent a letter to House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) and top Democrat Maxine Waters (Calif.) ahead of today’s hearing on the future of payments.

The coalition, which has long lobbied in support of legislation to limit credit card swipe fees, made a pitch for its favorite bill — and against credit card companies.

• “Some have suggested that cryptocurrency businesses are large enough that Visa, Mastercard and major banks won’t be able to stifle competition from them. That is wishful thinking that ignores the evidence,” wrote the groups, including the National Restaurant Association and the National Association of Convenience Stores.

Eileen O’Mara, vice chair of Stripe Inc. is among those on the schedule to testify at the hearing, which the committee billed as an opportunity to “examine the evolution in our payments system and the role of bank and nonbank charters.”

The Electronic Payments Coalition, a rival group, has long pushed back on the retailers’ messages. This week it said it was highlighting how Americans, especially those with low-to-moderate incomes, use credit card rewards to reduce costs.

Michael Richards has joined Monument Advocacy as a principal in the tech and AI lobbying practice. Richards was most recently at the US Chamber of Commerce, where he led the business lobby’s AI, semiconductor, and IT modernization portfolio as executive director of the Chamber’s Technology Engagement Center.

Prior to joining the Chamber, Richards was deputy chief of staff and legislative director for Rep. Scott Franklin (R-Fla.) and served as an aide to Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas), a co-chair of the bipartisan House AI Caucus.

Plus: Heather Soubra rejoined the International Dairy Foods Association as senior vice president of strategic initiatives and industry relations.

She most recently served as director of the George Washington Leadership Institute at Mount Vernon, where she designed programming for leaders in government agencies and trade associations. Soubra previously was IDFA’s senior vice president of strategic initiatives and chief of staff.

• Elevate Government Affairs added Chris Leahy, founder of LongView Public Strategies and formerly chief corporate affairs officer at Intuit Inc., as an EVP. Elevate also brought on Amanda Hampton as a manager and Caitlin Brawley as an associate.

• Holland & Knight added Lucy Marvin, previously with the Intermodal Association of North America, as a new maritime transportation policy partner in its federal government affairs practice.

Too many companies are slow to adopt politically focused executive branch government affairs, preferring to court legislative branch and career staffers, writes May Mailman of MPL Strategies. But hiring a political lobbyist for the Trump administration is about ensuring that a business or movement’s story is worked through the policy process in terms that resonate and inspire results.

“MAGA-world policymakers experience things in a way most corporate lifers can’t intuitively know,” Mailman writes in this week’s Bloomberg Government Business of Lobbying Insight. “The media we consume, the people we like, and the policy arguments we dislike all shape how we receive incoming information.”

Supreme Rice, a Louisiana company, tapped Ballard Partners to lobby on trade and tariffs and the Farm bill, a new lobbying disclosure shows.

Firm founder Brian Ballard and Hunter Morgen, a former special assistant to Trump, are working for the new client, according to the registration.

Ballard Partners topped all K Street firms as of last year, with tax and trade matters helping fuel the business boom, Ballard has said.

The Fintech Foundation and the Global Finance & Technology Network are launching a new benchmark to compare regulatory environments around the globe. They’ve dubbed it the Fintech Regulatory Futures Index.

• “Regulatory benchmarking should not be a black box,” said Chris Brummer, the Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Financial Technology at Georgetown University Law Center and founder of the Fintech Foundation, in a statement. “The FRFI is designed to bring methodology into the open—combining legal, economic, technological, and market expertise to build a framework that improves over time.”

Fincantieri Marine Group is hiring for a VP of government affairs in Washington, a gig that pays up to $255,000, per a recent job posting.

The role includes serving as the shipbuilding company’s senior representative and strategic adviser on government relations matters, with a focus on defense, maritime, and national security policy.

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