Anthropic makes last-ditch effort to salvage deal with Pentagon after blowup

"Securing a new deal could be a matter of survival for the US startup. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he would designate Anthropic a supply chain risk on Friday, a category typically reserved for companies with ties to foreign governments that pose national security risks to the United States. The designation would have a ripple effect throughout the US tech ecosystem, forcing firms to ditch Claude and sever ties with the company if they want to keep working on defense contracts."

"Amodei is in talks with under-secretary of defense for research and engineering Emil Michael about a new contract that would allow the US military to continue using Anthropic's Claude AI models, according to the Financial Times, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter. Michael attacked Amodei on social media last week amid a tense standoff over acceptable military uses of AI, calling the executive a 'liar' with a 'God-complex' and accusing him of 'putting our nation's safety at risk.'"

"A newly leaked memo sent from Amodei to Anthropic staff on Friday, first reported on by The Information and also seen by the FT, is likely to inflame already tense relations between the company and the Trump administration. In it, Amodei reportedly criticized OpenAI's deal with the Pentagon as 'safety theater' and described the messaging from both parties as 'straight up lies.'"

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is negotiating with the Department of Defense to salvage the company's military relationship after talks collapsed over Pentagon demands for unrestricted AI access. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a supply chain risk, a designation typically reserved for national security threats, which would force defense contractors to abandon Claude AI models. The conflict stems from disagreements over acceptable military uses of AI, with under-secretary Emil Michael publicly attacking Amodei. A leaked memo from Amodei criticized OpenAI's Pentagon deal as safety theater and accused both parties of dishonesty. The supply chain risk designation threatens Anthropic's survival by creating ripple effects throughout the US tech ecosystem.

Read at The Verge