Anthropic's relationship with the Trump administration has taken an unexpected turn. Months after the AI company became the target of Pentagon action over restrictions on military use of its Claude models, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the administration once again trusts the company.
"They've done what we asked. They're back on the right side. So the answer is: Yes," Lutnick told Axios' Mike Allen in an interview on Tuesday when asked whether he trusted Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei.
The comments mark a striking change in tone for a company that recently found itself in a legal confrontation with the US government over the use of its technology.
The change in relations was on display in North Carolina on Wednesday, where Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown appeared at the G20 Innovation Ministerial with Lutnick.
Rather than treating Anthropic as a company at odds with Washington, Lutnick gave Brown a prominent role in the technology-focused gathering.
"Really excited for our conversation, so I'd like to introduce you all to Tom Brown, one of the founders of Anthropic," Lutnick said.
He then encouraged Brown to explain the company to an international audience.
"I don't think they know you so well. Anthropic, of course, is famous, but a little story helps."
Brown's appearance offered another indication that the two sides are moving towards cooperation, particularly around the infrastructure required for the rapid expansion of AI.
The relationship deteriorated after Anthropic refused to allow the US government to use Claude for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons.
That position brought the company into conflict with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who blocked Anthropic from certain military contracts.
Anthropic challenged the government's actions in federal court. The company secured an important victory in August when a judge sided with it in its fight with the American military over AI safety on the battlefield.
The court also struck down the Pentagon's designation of Anthropic as a supply-chain risk, ruling that the government's actions violated the company's constitutional rights.
Anthropic is still pursuing a separate legal challenge involving another Pentagon designation under a different statute in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
While the dispute centred on military applications of AI, Anthropic has increasingly found areas where its interests overlap with the administration's economic priorities.
