Anthropic CEO in Direct Talks With Pentagon Over AI Access
Dario Amodei is negotiating with a top DOD official to hammer out terms for military use of Anthropic's models.
Anthropic's chief Dario Amodei is personally negotiating with the Department of Defense over how the Pentagon gets to use the company's AI models. The talks involve Emil Michael, a deputy to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and center on reaching a compromise around military applications of the technology.
The discussions aim to produce a formal contract governing access — a significant move for a company that has historically positioned itself as the "safety-first" AI lab. Hammering out acceptable terms for defense use is tricky terrain for any frontier AI company, but especially one built on the premise of responsible development.
Details on specific model access, pricing, or use-case restrictions haven't surfaced yet. But the fact that the CEO himself is at the table signals Anthropic sees this as a make-or-break negotiation with major strategic implications.