The $100,000 visa fee isn't stopping OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia as they battle for AI talent

The article says Nvidia, OpenAI, and Anthropic are intensifying their competition for AI talent despite higher H-1B visa costs, including a new $100,000 fee for applicants living overseas. Federal data shows all three increased certified H-1B filings in Q2 2026 versus a year earlier, with Nvidia remaining far ahead in volume. The trend contrasts with declines at several large tech firms such as Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and especially Google, suggesting hiring is concentrating in smaller, highly specialized AI teams. The market takeaway is that leading AI firms are still investing aggressively in critical engineering and research capacity, which could support continued product development and infrastructure demand even as broader tech hiring cools.