Anthropic’s Pentagon deal is a cautionary tale for startups chasing federal contracts

The Pentagon has designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk after the two sides failed to agree on how much control the military should have over the company’s AI models, including their use in autonomous weapons and mass domestic surveillance. Anthropic’s $200 million contract collapsed, and the Department of Defense turned to OpenAI instead.

OpenAI accepted, and ChatGPT uninstalls surged 295%, underscoring the stakes as debate continues over how much unrestricted access the military should have to an AI model. Equity hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha and Sean O’Kane break down what startups should know about pursuing federal AI contracts and cover the week’s biggest tech stories: Paramount’s Warner Bros.

deal, MyFitnessPal’s Cal AI acquisition, Pinterest’s $1B AI push, Anduril’s $60B valuation and whether the “SaaSpocalypse” is real. Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast and Spotify, and follow the show on X and Threads at @EquityPod. Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer focusing on Equity.

United States, Pentagon

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