Businesses and startups using Anthropic Claude through Microsoft and Google products don’t have to fear having that model taken away from them, Microsoft and Google have confirmed to TechCrunch. It has been reported that AWS customers and partners can continue to use Claude for non-defense workloads.
Even as the Trump administration’s Department of the Army (officially known as the Department of Defense) escalated its feud with Anthropic, Microsoft was the first major technology company to offer assurances that Anthropic’s model would remain available to customers.
The Pentagon on Thursday formally designated a U.S. AI startup as a supply chain risk after the company refused to give it unrestricted access to its technology for applications it said its AI could not safely support, such as mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons.
Supply chain risk designations are typically reserved for foreign adversaries. For Anthropic, the designation means it will no longer be able to use its products once the Department of Defense moves Claude off its systems. It also requires companies and agencies working with the Department of Defense to certify that they are not using Anthropic models. Antropic has vowed to challenge the designation in court.
Microsoft sells a variety of products, from Office to the cloud, to many federal agencies, including the Department of Defense. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company will continue to offer Anthropic’s models within its own products and to Microsoft customers.
“Our attorneys reviewed this designation and concluded that Anthropic products, including Claude, will continue to be available to non-Department of the Army customers through platforms such as M365, GitHub, and Microsoft’s AI Foundry, and they can continue to work with Anthropic on non-defense-related projects,” the spokesperson said in an email. The comments were first reported by CNBC.
Google, which sells cloud computing, AI, and productivity tools to federal agencies, also confirmed it will continue to make Claude available to customers.
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“We understand that this decision does not prevent us from working with Anthropic on non-defense projects, and their products will continue to be available through our platforms, including Google Cloud,” a Google spokesperson said.
CNBC also reported that AWS customers and partners can continue to use Claude for non-defense workloads.
This echoes the words of Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who vowed in a statement to oppose the designation.
“For our customers, this provision clearly applies only to a customer’s use of the Claude as a direct part of a contract with the Department of the Army, and does not apply to all use of the Claude by a customer with such a contract,” Amodei said. , further adding, “Even as a Department of the Army contractor, the supply chain risk designation does not and cannot limit your use of Claude or your business relationship with Anthropic Co., if unrelated to your specific Department of the Army contract.”
Meanwhile, Claude’s consumer surge continues even after Anthropic refused to bow to the ministry’s demands.
