Some Anthropic investors are growing frustrated with CEO Dario Amodei’s combative stance toward the Trump administration — even as as defense contractor Lockheed Martin said it will comply with the government’s ban on the AI startup, according to reports.
Investors have privately complained that Amodei has antagonized Pentagon officials rather than working to smooth relations as the dispute escalated.
Those backers have urged Anthropic to find a way to contain the fallout — even as they continue to support the company’s broader stance — because they fear Amodei’s posture could worsen tensions and deepen the risk of wider business blowback tied to the Pentagon fight, Reuters reported.
“It’s an ego and diplomacy problem,” one person briefed on the discussions told the outlet.
Earlier this week, The Post reported that oddball blog posts written by Anthropic researcher and in-house “philosopher” Amanda Askell had resurfaced after President Trump blasted the AI startup as “woke” and “radical left” while announcing a ban on the company serving federal agencies.
The posts — including one comparing eating meat to “ritual cannibalism” and another criticizing incarceration — fueled concerns among some officials in Washington about the political leanings and ideological influences shaping the company behind the Claude chatbot.
The clash centers on Anthropic’s refusal to drop safeguards that prevent its Claude AI from being used for autonomous weapons or mass US surveillance.
The tensions are already rippling through the defense industry.
Lockheed Martin said it would comply with the government’s directive to phase out Anthropic’s technology, and other defense contractors are expected to follow suit if the startup is formally designated a “supply-chain risk.”
“We will follow the president’s and the Department of War’s direction,” Lockheed Martin told The Post in a statement when asked about its Anthropic use following the moves by the Trump administration.
“We expect minimal impacts,” the company said, adding that it doesn’t depend on any single AI vendor “for any portion of our work.”
Reuters quoted lawyers close to government contractors as saying that they anticipate other defense firms following Lockheed’s lead.
“Most companies that do significant business with the government are hyper-aware of what the US government wants and they’re likely already taking steps to cleanse their supply chains of Anthropic,” Franklin Turner, an attorney who specializes in government contracts, told Reuters.
“Regardless of the legal justification, I think the threat is the point … it has already done harm, significant harm to the company,” he added, referring to Anthropic.
A spokesperson for L3Harris declined to comment.
The Post has sought comment from Anthropic, General Dynamics and Raytheon parent RTX.
The AI startup is backed by a who’s who of tech and finance, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia, as well as venture investors such as Lightspeed Venture Partners, Iconiq Capital and Coatue.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has also spoken with Amodei about the dispute in recent days, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, though it remains unclear what position he took during those conversations.
Lightspeed and Iconiq have also been in contact with Anthropic executives, Reuters reported. The Post has sought comment from Amazon, Lightspeed and Iconiq.
The dispute escalated in late February after the Pentagon pushed AI companies to agree to an “all lawful use” clause that would allow the military to deploy their technology without carve-outs.
Anthropic refused, maintaining safeguards that prohibit its Claude AI from being used for fully autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance.
The standoff intensified last week when the Trump administration ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s technology and begin phasing it out within six months.
At the same time, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved to label the startup a potential “supply-chain risk,” a designation that could bar government contractors from using its tools.
In the days that followed, agencies and contractors began scrambling to comply with the directive.
OpenAI, a rival to Anthropic, has emerged as an early beneficiary of the fallout.
The company said last week it had secured its own classified agreement with the Pentagon and publicly argued that Anthropic should not be labeled a supply-chain risk — even as critics warn the dispute could push AI firms to relax safeguards in order to win lucrative defense contracts.
After the administration ordered departments to phase out Anthropic’s technology, the State Department moved to replace its internal “StateChat” system with an OpenAI model.
“As President Trump said, we will never allow a radical left, woke company to dictate how our United States Military fights wars,” a White House spokeswoman said. “Secretary Hegseth and the Department of War are ensuring that our courageous men and women in uniform have the tools they need to win, without interference from left-wing corporate policies.”
