Anthropic plans to sue the US government after the Pentagon labeled the AI startup a ‘supply chain risk’ to national security, according to its CEO Dario Amodei.
Pentagon labels anthropology a national security risk
In a statement Thursday, Amodei said the company has received an official message from the Ministry of War confirming the designation.
“Yesterday (March 4), Anthropic received a letter from the War Department confirming that we have been designated a supply chain risk to U.S. national security,” he wrote.
The label is important because it typically requires defense contractors and suppliers to certify that they do not use the company’s technology in Pentagon-related work.
Historically, similar designations have largely targeted foreign companies, including the Chinese telecom giant Huawei technologies.
Anthropic said it plans to challenge the decision in court. “As we wrote on Friday, we do not believe this action is legally justified, and we see no choice but to challenge it in court,” Amodei said.
In the statement, Amodei also said the company had not leaked a reported internal memo criticizing the government, adding: “It is not in our interest to escalate this situation.”
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.
Dispute centers on military use of AI
The conflict stems from disagreements between Anthropic and the Pentagon over how to name the company’s AI models Claude – could be used by the military.
Anthropic reportedly sought assurances that its systems would not be used for fully autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance.
However, the Ministry of Defense wanted broad access to the technology for legal military purposes.
Rising tensions and consequences for the industry
The dispute comes despite a $200 million contract the Defense Department awarded Anthropic last year, making it one of the first AI labs to deploy models on secret government networks.
Meanwhile, competitors such as OpenAI – led by CEO Sam Altman – And xAIfounded by Elon Muskhave moved to deepen their own partnerships with the Pentagon.
Microsoft rates Pentagon label over anthropic
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Disclaimer: This content was produced in part using AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga’s editorial staff.
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