Pentagon ends $200 million Anthropic partnership over AI use dispute
The Pentagon cut ties with AI company Anthropic in February 2026 after months of back-and-forth about how its tech could be used.
Anthropic's CEO, Dario Amodei, wanted to block their AI from being used for fully autonomous weapons and domestic mass surveillance, but the Pentagon pushed for broader access.
When they couldn't agree, their $200 million partnership ended and Anthropic was labeled a "supply-chain risk."
Anthropic sues Pentagon, alleges retaliation
Anthropic fired back with a lawsuit, saying the Pentagon was punishing them for standing by their safety policies.
The case is getting extra attention because of questions about undersecretary of defense for research and engineering Emil Michael's financial links to rival company xAI.
For now, some government-approved agencies have access to Anthropic's Mythos 5 model while the legal battle continues.