Regarding the U.S. War Department's (formerly the Department of Defense) official designation of Anthropic as a "foreign entity posing a supply chain risk to U.S. national security," CEO Dario Amodei issued a statement today. He confirmed that the company has received the relevant notice and clearly stated that it will challenge the decision in court, citing its lack of legal basis.

In his statement, Amodei pointed out that although the company does not recognize the legality of this designation, to ensure that frontline personnel and national security experts do not lose critical tools during key operations, Anthropic has decided to take proactive safeguard measures: within the legally permitted transition period, the company will provide its AI models to the War Department and the national security community, charging only a mere symbolic cost, and will dispatch engineers for round-the-clock technical support.

Additionally, Amodei publicly apologized for previously leaked internal emails with an aggressive tone. He admitted that the email was an "outdated assessment" written six days ago under difficult conditions and does not represent his current well-considered views. He emphasized that Anthropic's bottom line remains clear — prohibiting the use of AI only for "fully autonomous weapons" and "mass domestic surveillance." In areas such as intelligence analysis, modeling and simulation, operational planning, and cyber warfare, the company is very proud of its contributions to U.S. national security.

This statement is seen as an emergency public relations move by Anthropic under political pressure and the competition from rivals like OpenAI for military contracts. The company emphasized that its goals with the government in maintaining national security are consistent, and future decisions will be based on this common premise.

Key Points

  • ⚖️ Legal Challenge: Anthropic believes the War Department's designation lacks legal basis and has decided to take legal action to protect its rights.

  • 💰 Symbolic Cost Supply: Commitment to provide models to the military at a symbolic price, ensuring continuous AI support for national security experts during the transition period.

  • 📝 Position Correction and Apology: The CEO withdrew previous criticisms of competitors, emphasizing the company's positive attitude towards non-lethal military applications such as intelligence analysis.