In an official IPO filing, Anthropic warns that the U.S. government’s stance could affect the entire company, including its relationships with commercial customers and partners. The filing cites, among other things, the Pentagon designation as a supply-chain risk and temporary export restrictions on two models.
Reuters reported this after reviewing the document. Companies planning to go public often warn about policy changes. For example, SpaceX stated in its IPO filing that good relationships with U.S. government agencies are crucial for the company. Anthropic goes a step further. According to the company, the way the government views Anthropic also affects customers, partners, and other commercial relationships.
Anthropic itself is hardly dependent on government funding. Contracts with government agencies account for less than 1 percent of its annual revenue.
An eventful year with Washington
In the document, Anthropic cites several clashes with the U.S. government over the past year. In February, President Trump directed federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s models. Additionally, the Department of Defense designated the company as a supply chain risk to national security. A federal appeals court upheld that designation on September 25. Anthropic acknowledges that these events could result in “material revenue losses or business disruptions .”
But that wasn’t all. In June, the Department of Commerce imposed global export restrictions on Fable 5 and Mythos 5. To comply, Anthropic disabled both models for all customers. The restrictions have since been lifted, and the models are available again. Nevertheless, the company says similar measures could follow again. Whatever the outcome, such measures can lead to reputational damage, negative media attention, and a poorer image among customers, partners, employees, and investors.
Existential warning
Another striking point in the document is that advanced AI can pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity.” The company also notes that it becomes more difficult to assess the safety of models once they realize they are being tested.
CEO Dario Amodei recently called on the industry to slow AI development. That call came after repeated reports of hacking activities by so-called rogue autonomous AI agents. Last Sunday, Amodei dined with Trump, while more and more people are calling for stricter AI regulations. Trump largely dismisses those calls. However, the Federal Trade Commission is investigating the entire AI sector, including Anthropic.
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