The Department of Defense has officially designated Anthropic as a supply-chain risk, according to reports from The New York Times and TechCrunch. The designation makes Anthropic the first American company to receive this label, which could potentially prevent the AI startup from conducting business with the U.S. government.
According to TechCrunch, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei stated that the company plans to challenge the designation in court. Amodei claimed that most Anthropic customers remain unaffected by the label. The New York Times confirmed that Anthropic has said it will sue the Defense Department over the designation.
In a notable contradiction, TechCrunch reports that despite the supply-chain risk label, the Department of Defense continues to use Anthropic’s AI technology in Iran. The reports did not specify the reasons behind the Pentagon’s designation or provide details about the nature of the perceived supply-chain risks.
The designation represents a significant development in the relationship between AI companies and U.S. government agencies, particularly as federal entities increasingly rely on artificial intelligence technologies for various operations.