Silicon Valley “sharing economy” darlings Uber and Airbnb raised mad money in 2015. Dwarfing other “unicorns” (startups whose valuation reaches a billion dollars), Airbnb is now valued at $25 billion — rivaling the largest US hotel chains — while the market puts Uber’s value at $65 billion, similar to major car companies. Last year alone Airbnb raised $1.6 billion to push its total funding over the $2 billion mark, and Uber raised almost $5 billion, for a total of more than $6.5 billion.

The two companies were busy with more than raising cash however. In 2015 they intensified their lobbying, PR, and customer mobilization efforts to create a regulatory landscape that embraces their business needs. One of the most potent arrows in the companies’ lobbying quiver is that legislators and the public can be swayed by the apparent inevitability of a technology-driven future: “Don’t be left behind!” is a clarion call that few can resist.

In just two examples: last July Uber quashed Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to cap the number of cars on New York City streets, and in October, Airbnb fought off Proposition F (an initiative to restrict short-term housing rentals) in San Francisco, out-advertis­ing its opponents by a ratio of 100 to 1.