Anthropic 'can be of great use': Trump amid White House discussions with CEO Dario Amodei
The strained relationship between Anthropic, the AI firm listed as a 'supply chain risk', and President Donald Trump's administration seems to be 'shaping up' towards a positive direction. In an interview, the US President has stated that Anthropic is shaping up in the eyes of his administration, expressing openness to allowing the company to resume contracts with the Pentagon.
In the interview with CNBC's Squawk Box, Trump revealed that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and senior executives met with White House officials last week, with the administration describing it as productive discussions.
"They came to the White House a few days ago, and we had some very good talks with them," Trump said. "And I think they're shaping up. They're very smart, and I think they can be of great use. I like smart people," he concluded.
Anthropic-Trump relations improving after high-level meeting
The White House meeting, which was confirmed previously by the White House as a 'productive and constructive' one, was held between Amodei and senior Trump administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. The meeting appears to be part of a broader effort to repair ties outside the Defense Department, which has categorised Anthropic as a supply chain risk.
Trump's latest remarks now suggest that his administration is open to resolving the Pentagon standoff, which kicked off in February 2026 after Amodei refused to grant the Pentagon unlimited access to its AI tools over fears of US using the AI tool for mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. A renegotiated deal could allow Anthropic to regain access to classified networks and military contracts, where its Claude models were previously the only frontier AI system approved for such use.
Will the US-China AI race push Trump, Dario Amodei to join hands?
The development emerges at a time when the US continues to intensify its AI competition with China. Senior officials have highlighted the strategic importance of maintaining leadership in the frontier AI race, even while insisting on strong national security safeguards. Anthropic has not yet commented publicly on Trump's statements.
On the side note, Anthropic continues with its lawsuit against the Pentagon while simultaneously expanding commercial partnerships with other firms and releasing powerful new models like Mythos.
It is expected that the re-emergence of a deal between Anthropic and the Pentagon could significantly boost Anthropic's valuation and government revenue stream, easing pressure on the company's ongoing business expansion.
Meanwhile, Sam Altman's OpenAI, which quickly stepped in to fill the gap left by Anthropic's blacklisting from the Pentagon, may now need to face renewed competition for defense contracts.