Pentagon has officially labelled Anthropic as a supply chain risk.
Anthropic CEO says the company 'had been having productive conversations' with the department over the last few days.
Anthropic CEO also made it clear that the company may take legal action if needed.
The ongoing tension between AI startup Anthropic and the United States Department of Defense has taken a new turn. Even after the Pentagon officially labelled the company as a supply chain risk, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says the company has been having productive talks with the department. The CEO also claimed that the company could sue the department.
‘I would like to reiterate that we had been having productive conversations with the Department of War over the last several days, both about ways we could serve the Department that adhere to our two narrow exceptions, and ways for us to ensure a smooth transition if that is not possible,’ Amodei wrote in a lengthy post.
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The comments came after the Pentagon confirmed that it had formally labelled Anthropic as a supply chain risk. The AI company is pushing back against how broadly the restriction is being interpreted. Amodei said the company believes the designation only applies to direct work related to defence contracts.
‘With respect to our customers, it plainly applies only to the use of Claude by customers as a direct part of contracts with the Department of War, not all use of Claude by customers who have such contracts,’ he wrote.
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Amodei also made it clear that the company may take legal action if needed. ‘We do not believe this action is legally sound, and we see no choice but to challenge it in court.’
Tech giant Microsoft confirmed that its customers can still access Anthropic’s products, including Claude, through platforms such as Microsoft 365, GitHub and Microsoft’s AI Foundry. ‘Our lawyers have studied the designation and have concluded that Anthropic products, including Claude, can remain available to our customers- other than the Department of War- through platforms such as M365, GitHub, and Microsoft’s AI Foundry and that we can continue to work with Anthropic on non-defense related projects,’ a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider.
In his statement, Amodei also addressed a controversy involving a leaked internal message where he criticised the White House after negotiations with the Pentagon fell apart.
‘It was a difficult day for the company, and I apologise for the tone of the post. It does not reflect my careful or considered views,’ Amodei wrote. ‘It was also written six days ago, and is an out-of-date assessment of the current situation.’
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Despite the tensions, Amodei’s post suggested that the company still wants to maintain a working relationship with the defence department. ‘Anthropic has much more in common with the Department of War than we have differences,’ he wrote.
