Pentagon chief slams Anthropic ‘betrayal’ in AI tech row

WorldTechnology
28 Feb 2026 • 9:47 AM MYT
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“Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon.”

Washington: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused Anthropic of “arrogance and betrayal” Friday after the AI startup rejected the Pentagon’s demand that it agree to unconditional military use of its Claude models.

“Anthropic delivered a master class in arrogance and betrayal as well as a textbook case of how not to do business with the United States Government or the Pentagon,” Hegseth posted on X.

“America’s warfighters will never be held hostage by the ideological whims of Big Tech,” the Pentagon chief said.

He also said he was directing the Defense Department to declare Anthropic a “supply-chain risk,” and that “no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic.”