U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he has instructed the government to terminate its collaboration with Anthropic. The Pentagon will designate the startup as a supply-chain risk, marking a significant setback for the artificial intelligence lab following a dispute over technology regulations.
Trump specified a six-month phase-out period for the Defense Department and other agencies utilizing Anthropic’s products. Should Anthropic fail to facilitate the transition, Trump warned of utilizing the full power of the presidency to enforce compliance, potentially leading to severe civil and criminal penalties.
Anthropic representatives, who secured a Pentagon contract worth up to $200 million last year, did not provide an immediate response for comment.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the intended classification of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk, which could result in contractors being prohibited from incorporating Anthropic’s AI in Pentagon projects. This action, typically reserved for suppliers from adversarial countries, mirrors past measures taken against entities like Huawei to safeguard defense supply chains.
Legal expert Franklin Turner suggested that Anthropic might challenge the designation in court, emphasizing the existential threat it poses to the company’s government contracts and commercial partnerships. Turner likened the blacklisting of Anthropic to a severe contractual conflict.
The Pentagon had set a deadline for Friday to resolve a growing dispute with Anthropic regarding the military’s use of AI in warfare.
As a leading figure in AI technology, Anthropic has been fiercely competing to market innovative solutions to businesses and government agencies, especially in national security, amid speculation about an upcoming initial public offering. The company has not yet made a final decision regarding an IPO.
The disagreement over technology regulations raised concerns that the Defense Department might prioritize U.S. laws over ethical and safety considerations when deploying AI in national security operations, a stance Anthropic sought to address by ensuring its AI was not used for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance on a large scale.
Anthropic made strides by placing its models on classified networks through cloud provider Amazon and tailoring models for national security clients, including the intelligence community and armed forces.
Senator Mark Warner, a Democratic member of the Select Committee on Intelligence, criticized Trump’s directive to cease the use of a prominent American AI company across federal agencies. Warner expressed apprehension over whether national security decisions were influenced by thorough analysis or political motives.
The tech industry and the Pentagon have clashed on multiple occasions, notably in 2018 when Google employees protested the Pentagon’s use of their AI for drone footage analysis. While reconciliatory efforts ensued, involving tech giants like Amazon and Microsoft vying for defense contracts, concerns over “killer robots” persisted among human rights and tech advocates. The battlefield in regions like Ukraine and Gaza has witnessed a rise in automated systems, underscoring ongoing debates surrounding AI in warfare.
