Dario Amodei said Thursday that Anthropic plans to challenge the Defense Department’s decision to classify the AI company as a supply chain risk in court. He said the designation was “legally unsound.”
The statement came hours after the Department of Defense officially designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk, following weeks of debate over how much control the military should have over AI systems. A supply chain risk designation could prohibit the company from working with the Department of Defense and its contractors. Amodei drew a firm line that Anthropic’s AI should not be used for mass surveillance of Americans or fully autonomous weapons, but believed the Department of Defense should have unrestricted access for “all lawful purposes.”
Amodei said in a statement that the majority of Anthropic customers are not affected by the supply chain risk designation.
“As for our customers, this only applies if they use Claude. as a direct part “Not all customers who have contracts with the War Department use Claude,” he said.
As a preview of what Anthropic is likely to argue in court, Amodei said the department’s letter flagging supply chain risks to the company was narrow in scope.
“It exists to protect the government rather than to punish its suppliers. In fact, the law states that the Secretary of War Requires the least restrictive means possible “Even as a War Department contractor, supply chain risk designations do not and cannot limit Claude’s use or business relationship with Anthropic when not related to a specific War Department contract,” Amodei said.
Amodei reiterated that Anthropic had had productive conversations with the department over the past few days, and said some of the alleged conversations were derailed by the leak of an internal memo he sent to employees. Amdodei described the Department of Defense’s deal with rival OpenAI as “safety theater.”
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OpenAI signed a contract to work with the Department of Defense instead of Anthropic, which sparked a backlash among OpenAI employees.
Amodei apologized for the leak in a statement Thursday, insisting the company did not intentionally share the memo or instruct anyone else to do so. “It is not in our interest to escalate the situation,” he said.
Amodei said the memo was written within “hours” of a series of announcements, including the president’s Truth Social post that Anthropic would be removed from federal systems, Defense Secretary Hegseth’s designation of supply chain risks, and finally the announcement of the Pentagon’s deal with OpenAI. He apologized for his tone, calling it “a difficult day for the company” and saying the memo did not reflect a “cautious or considered view.” He added that what was written six days ago is now an “outdated assessment”.
He concluded by saying that Anthropic’s top priority is to ensure that U.S. troops and national security professionals maintain access to critical tools during major ongoing combat operations. Anthropic currently supports some U.S. operations in Iran, and Amodei said the company will continue to provide models to the Department of Defense at a “nominal cost” “for as long as necessary to effect the transition.”
Anthropic could probably challenge the desingation in federal court in Washington, but the law behind the decision makes it more difficult to challenge it because it limits the usual ways companies can challenge government procurement decisions and gives the Department of Defense broad discretion on national security matters.
Or, as Dean Ball, a former Trump-era White House AI adviser who objects to Hegseth’s treatment of humanity, put it:
