TLDR
- The Pentagon labeled Anthropic a supply chain risk, effectively blocking defense contractors from using its products
- Microsoft reviewed the designation and confirmed Anthropic’s Claude AI tools will stay in its platforms, excluding the Department of War
- Microsoft is the first major tech company to publicly confirm it will keep using Anthropic after the blacklist
- Anthropic plans to challenge the Pentagon decision in court
- Microsoft invested up to $5 billion in Anthropic and holds a deal worth $30 billion in Azure cloud commitments
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The Pentagon blacklisted Anthropic on Thursday, calling it a supply chain risk. Microsoft reviewed the move and said Anthropic’s tools will stay in its products for most customers.
MICROSOFT: “Our lawyers have studied the designation and have concluded that Anthropic products, including Claude, can remain available to our customers—other than the Department of War—through platforms such as M365, GitHub, and Microsoft’s AI Foundry and that we can continue to…
— Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) March 6, 2026
The dispute started over how Anthropic’s Claude AI models could be used by the military. Anthropic said it would not allow its technology to be used for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the designation bars companies with defense contracts from doing business with Anthropic.
Microsoft became the first major company to publicly respond. A spokesperson said the company’s lawyers “studied the designation” and concluded that Anthropic products can stay available to customers.
Claude will remain accessible through Microsoft 365, GitHub, and Microsoft’s AI Foundry. The only exception is the Department of War.
“We can continue to work with Anthropic on non-defense related projects,” the Microsoft spokesperson said.
Some defense technology companies have already told employees to stop using Claude and move to other tools.
Microsoft has close financial ties to Anthropic. In November, Anthropic committed to spending $30 billion on Microsoft’s Azure cloud services. Microsoft agreed to invest up to $5 billion in Anthropic as part of that deal.
Microsoft also integrated Anthropic’s models into its Microsoft 365 Copilot product in September, alongside models from OpenAI.
Anthropic Plans to Fight the Decision in Court
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said the company was in talks with the Pentagon even while preparing a legal challenge.
“I would like to reiterate that we had been having productive conversations with the Department of War,” Amodei wrote in a public statement Thursday.
However, a Department of War official named Emil Michael said on X that negotiations are no longer happening.
“I want to end all speculation: there is no active negotiation with Anthropic,” Michael wrote.
Background on the Fallout
Shortly after talks between Anthropic and the Pentagon broke down, rival company OpenAI announced the Pentagon had agreed to run its models for classified workloads.
Amodei also issued an apology after a leaked memo showed he had criticized the White House following the breakdown in talks.
In the memo, Amodei reportedly wrote that the administration disliked Anthropic because he had not offered “dictator-style praise to Trump.”
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been expanding the company’s AI partnerships beyond OpenAI. In October, he highlighted the ability to switch between Anthropic and OpenAI models inside Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Microsoft currently holds a $135 billion stake in OpenAI and has committed $250 billion in Azure spending tied to that partnership.
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