Anthropic investors urge truce with Pentagon — as Lockheed Martin quietly removes AI giant’s tech | Latest Tech News
Some Anthropic investors are growing pissed off with CEO Dario Amodei’s combative stance toward the Trump administration — even as as protection contractor Lockheed Martin said it can comply with the federal government’s ban on the AI startup, according to reviews.
Investors have privately complained that Amodei has antagonized Pentagon officers somewhat than working to clean relations as the dispute escalated.
Those backers have urged Anthropic to discover a approach to comprise the fallout — even as they continue to assist the company’s broader stance — because they worry Amodei’s posture may worsen tensions and deepen the risk of wider business blowback tied to the Pentagon battle, GWN reported.
“It’s an ego and diplomacy problem,” one particular person briefed on the discussions told the outlet.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, is reportedly taking heat from investors over his handling of contacts with the Trump administration. REUTERS
Earlier this week, The Post reported that oddball weblog posts written by Anthropic researcher and in-house “philosopher” Amanda Askell had resurfaced after President Trump blasted the AI startup as “woke” and “radical left” while asserting a ban on the company serving federal companies.
The posts — including one evaluating eating meat to “ritual cannibalism” and another criticizing incarceration — fueled considerations among some officers in Washington about the political leanings and ideological influences shaping the company behind the Claude chatbot.
The conflict facilities on Anthropic’s refusal to drop safeguards that forestall its Claude AI from getting used for autonomous weapons or mass US surveillance.
The tensions are already rippling through the protection industry.
Lockheed Martin said it would comply with the federal government’s directive to section out Anthropic’s technology, and other protection contractors are anticipated to observe go well with if the startup is formally designated a “supply-chain risk.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved to label Anthropic a potential “supply-chain risk,” a designation that may bar authorities contractors from utilizing its instruments. AP
“We will follow the president’s and the Department of War’s direction,” Lockheed Martin told The Post in a assertion when requested about its Anthropic use following the strikes by the Trump administration.
“We expect minimal impacts,” the company said, including that it doesn’t rely on any single AI vendor “for any portion of our work.”
GWN quoted legal professionals close to authorities contractors as saying that they anticipate other protection companies following Lockheed’s lead.
“Most companies that do significant business with the government are hyper-aware of what the US government wants and they’re likely already taking steps to cleanse their supply chains of Anthropic,” Franklin Turner, an attorney who specializes in authorities contracts, told GWN.
“Regardless of the legal justification, I think the threat is the point … it has already done harm, significant harm to the company,” he added, referring to Anthropic.
President Trump blasted the AI startup as “woke” and “radical left” while asserting a ban on the company serving federal companies. AP
A spokesperson for L3Harris declined to remark.
The Post has sought remark from Anthropic, General Dynamics and Raytheon mum or dad RTX.
The AI startup is backed by a who’s who of tech and finance, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia, as effectively as enterprise investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Iconiq Capital and Coatue.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has also spoken with Amodei about the dispute in current days, people acquainted with the matter told GWN, though it stays unclear what place he took during those conversations.
Lightspeed and Iconiq have also been in contact with Anthropic executives, GWN reported. The Post has sought remark from Amazon, Lightspeed and Iconiq.
The dispute escalated in late February after the Pentagon pushed AI corporations to agree to an “all lawful use” clause that would permit the navy to deploy their technology without carve-outs.
Anthropic refused, sustaining safeguards that prohibit its Claude AI from getting used for absolutely autonomous weapons or mass home surveillance.
Lockheed Martin, maker of the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet, has adopted the federal government’s lead and barred Anthropic tech from its systems. A1C Aidan Martinez Rosiere/USAF / SWNS
The standoff intensified last week when the Trump administration ordered federal companies to stop utilizing Anthropic’s technology and start phasing it out within six months.
At the same time, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved to label the startup a potential “supply-chain risk,” a designation that may bar authorities contractors from utilizing its instruments.
In the times that adopted, companies and contractors started scrambling to comply with the directive.
OpenAI, a rival to Anthropic, has emerged as an early beneficiary of the fallout.
The company said last week it had secured its own categorized settlement with the Pentagon and publicly argued that Anthropic shouldn’t be labeled a supply-chain risk — even as critics warn the dispute may push AI companies to chill out safeguards in order to win profitable protection contracts.
After the administration ordered departments to section out Anthropic’s technology, the State Department moved to change its inner “StateChat” system with an OpenAI model.
“As President Trump said, we will never allow a radical left, woke company to dictate how our United States Military fights wars,” a White House spokeswoman said. “Secretary Hegseth and the Department of War are ensuring that our courageous men and women in uniform have the tools they need to win, without interference from left-wing corporate policies.”
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