OpenAI strikes a Defense Department deal, hours after the Pentagon cuts Anthropic

Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images 2026-02-28T08:22:17.345Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. OpenAI has struck a deal with the Department of Defense to use its AI models. The agreement was announced hours after the Pentagon said it was cutting ties with Anthropic. Anthropic was unwilling to budge from its red lines on what it considers unlawful use of its AI. OpenAI has struck a deal for the Department of Defense to use its AI models, CEO Sam Altman announced late on Friday. The news came just hours after the Pentagon severed its relationship with AI rival Anthropic over the company's concerns about how the technology would be used in surveillance and autonomous weapons.The Department of Defense is now moving to designate Anthropic a supply chain risk, a significant escalation by the government that could threaten how the AI startup does business with other US-based companies. OpenAI's Altman said in a post on X: "Tonight, we reached an agreement with the Department of War to deploy our models in their classified network."In all of our interactions, the DoW displayed a deep respect for safety and a desire to partner to achieve the best possible outcome."AI safety and wide distribution of benefits are the core of our mission. Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force, including for autonomous weapon systems. The DoW agrees with these principles, reflects them in law and policy, and we put them into our agreement."On Friday, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's technology amid the dispute between the AI giant and the Department of Defense. "We don't need it, we don't want it, and will not do business with them again," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a post on X that he would be directing his department to label Anthropic a "supply-chain risk to national security." "Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic," Hegseth said in the post.Anthropic said in a statement that it will fight back. "We will challenge any supply chain risk designation in court," Anthropic's statement read, adding that the company had not received "direct communication from the Department of War or the White House on the status of our negotiations."It insisted that "no amount of intimidation or punishment from the Department of War will change our position on mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons."