‘Attempted corporate murder’: Trump’s threats against Anthropic chill AI industry

The unprecedented conflict over the military’s use of Anthropic’s AI model could transform the relationship between Washington and the tech sector.

"No amount of intimidation or punishment from the Department of War will change our position on mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons,” Anthropic said Friday. | Don Feria/AP

The high-stakes standoff between the Trump administration and artificial intelligence startup Anthropic is sparking fears in Silicon Valley, on Capitol Hill and across K Street of a fundamental shift in the balance of power between Washington and the AI industry.

President Donald Trump’s fiery attack on the company escalated the feud on Friday, as he ordered a government-wide boycott of Anthropic’s Claude AI model and threatened the company with prosecution if it doesn’t cooperate with agencies winding down their use of the technology. Within minutes, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also designated Anthropic a supply chain risk — a label, typically reserved for foreign firms with ties to U.S. adversaries, that blocks companies with government contracts from working with Anthropic.

Hours later, Anthropic’s archrival OpenAI announced it had reached its own agreement to deploy its technology at the Defense Department.

© Politico