Anthropic has warned that government attitudes toward the artificial intelligence company and its technology could have broader consequences for its business, including relationships with commercial customers and partners.
Companies routinely warn in regulatory filings that changes in government policy or relationships could affect their businesses, particularly those that rely on government contracts. SpaceX, for example, said in its IPO filing that maintaining strong relationships with U.S. government agencies was critical to its business and warned that deterioration in those relationships could materially hurt its ability to retain existing business and secure new opportunities.
Anthropic’s disclosure goes beyond direct government contracts, warning that perceptions of the company and its conduct could affect commercial customers, partners, employees, investors and other relationships.
The filing also highlights the risks associated with the technology itself. Anthropic warned that advanced AI could pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity,” underscoring the tension facing a company seeking to capitalize on rapid advances in AI while acknowledging potentially severe consequences from the technology.
Anthropic said revenue from government agency contracts accounts for less than 1% of its annual revenue, limiting its direct exposure to changes in government procurement.
The company has nevertheless become a focus of debate over the risks associated with the rapid development of AI, intensifying competition and limited regulatory oversight.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for the industry to slow the pace of AI development, following repeated reports of hacking activity involving so-called rogue autonomous AI agents.
Amodei met U.S. President Donald Trump for dinner last Sunday as calls for greater regulation of AI have intensified. Trump has largely rejected those calls, while the Federal Trade Commission is conducting an industrywide probe of AI companies including Anthropic, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Anthropic cited several interactions with the U.S. government over the past year in its prospectus as examples of developments that could disrupt its business.
The filing said that in February, the president ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic’s models and that the U.S. Department of Defense designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk to national security.
“The company may experience material revenue losses or business disruptions attributable to these events,” Anthropic said.
Anthropic also said that in June, the U.S. Department of Commerce imposed worldwide export restrictions on its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, prompting the company to disable the models for all customers to ensure compliance.
The Commerce Department later lifted those restrictions, allowing Anthropic to redeploy the models. The company warned, however, that similar government actions could occur in the future.
Such measures could result in “significant reputational harm, including adverse media coverage, public scrutiny, and negative perceptions among existing and prospective customers, partners, employees, and investors,” Anthropic said, regardless of the ultimate outcome.
The company also said selling to government agencies carries additional risks, including changes in the government’s view of Anthropic or its technology.
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