Anthropic Challenges OpenAI with $1 AI Deal for All Three Branches of US Government

Anthropic takes aim at OpenAI, offers Claude to 'all three branches of government' for $1 | TechCrunch

Just a week after OpenAI announced it would offer ChatGPT Enterprise to the entire federal executive branch workforce at $1 per year per agency, Anthropic has raised the stakes. The AI giant said Tuesday it would also offer its Claude models to government agencies for just $1 - but not only to the executive branch. Anthropic is targeting "all three branches" of the U.S. government, including the legislative and judiciary branches. The package will be available for one year, says Anthropic. The move comes after OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind were added to the General Services Administration's list of approved AI vendors that can sell their services to civilian federal agencies. TechCrunch has reached out to Google to see if it plans to respond to Anthropic's and OpenAI's challenges in kind. Anthropic's escalation - a response to OpenAI's attempt to undercut the competition - is a strategic play meant to broaden the company's foothold in federal AI usage. "We believe the U.S. public sector should have access to the most advanced AI capabilities to tackle complex challenges, from scientific research to constituent services," Anthropic said in a statement. "By combining broad accessibility with uncompromising security standards, we're helping ensure AI serves the public interest." Anthropic will offer both Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government. The latter supports FedRAMP High workloads so that federal workers can use Claude for handling sensitive unclassified work, according to the company. FedRAMP High is a stringent security baseline within the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) for handling unclassified sensitive government data. Anthropic will also provide technical support to help agencies integrate AI tools into their workflows, according to the company. Anthropic, along with OpenAI, xAI, and Google, has been granted up to $200 million by the Department of Defense to leverage AI for national security, but the AI firm clearly hopes to integrate into a broader array of government work, including science research and health services. Anthropic noted in its press release that Claude is already being used at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to accelerate scientific discoveries, and also by the District of Columbia Department of Health to help residents access health services in multiple languages. Anthropic says it is able to make such deployments because Claude "meets the government's highest security standards." Aside from being certified for FedRAMP High, customers can access Claude through their existing secure infrastructure via partnerships with AWS, Google Cloud, and Palantir, giving them more control over their data. Anthropic's multi-cloud access could give it an edge in the competition with OpenAI, whose current official FedRAMP High offering is tied to Azure Government Cloud only. While Azure is widely adopted in government, some government agencies and security teams might prioritize data sovereignty, infrastructure control, and the operational flexibility a multi-cloud strategy offers. OpenAI is, however, actively working to reduce its reliance on Azure so it can embrace a more diversified infrastructure approach.

GSA signs another $1-for-a-year AI deal with Anthropic

Deal could give legislative and judicial agencies access to AI that hallucinated legal citations in a court filing Anthropic has become the latest company to benefit from the US government's frenetic AI adoption pace, inking a deal to get its software into the hands of federal agencies at a deep discount. The General Services Administration on Tuesday announced an agreement with Anthropic that will see the Claude maker open its Enterprise and Government variants to agencies across all three branches of government for just $1 for a year of access. Because this is yet another OneGov deal, agencies interested in trying out Claude products will be able to buy it without needing to establish their own individual purchasing agreement with Anthropic. "OneGov is revolutionizing how the federal government acquires AI technology," GSA federal acquisition service commissioner Josh Gruenbaum said in a statement. "This agreement with Anthropic is another major step in the AI-driven transformation of government." Anthropic will also provide support to government agencies to help them with onboarding as part of the deal, the GSA said. Claude's Government offering is certified for FedRAMP High, meaning that it meets "the most stringent requirement" for handling sensitive unclassified workloads, according to Anthropic. While we didn't receive confirmation from the GSA or Anthropic, this deal also appears to be the first time the government has structured one of several recent AI deals to open discounted AI to groups outside of the federal civilian executive agencies. According to the GSA, members of Congress and the federal judiciary will also be able to purchase Claude for $1, though that depends on the approval of both other branches, suggesting that they haven't had AI made available to them in a similar manner before. It's worth questioning whether giving advanced AI to the federal judiciary amid an epidemic of fake AI legal citations is a good idea, and that goes double when it's Claude. Anthropic's own lawyers were called out in court for using fabricated legal citations in a music copyright case, and they blamed Claude hallucinations for the mistake - not exactly a great look for a company whose AI is now available to help judges. The Anthropic deal is the latest in a series of GSA AI pushes of late, and comes just a week after the agency added Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT to the Multiple Award Schedule to streamline agency purchase of their products in line with the OneGov strategy. The same day, the GSA also announced a deal with OpenAI to make ChatGPT available to federal agencies for $1 per year, with support, in a manner nearly identical to Tuesday's Anthropic announcement. The GSA has also announced deals with AWS, which made $1 billion in AWS credits available to federal agencies through the end of 2028, and Oracle, which will offer license-based technology to federal agencies at a 75 percent discount. As we've noted in previous stories about these deals, none of them is permanent. The AWS credits expire in a couple of years, Oracle discounts aren't locked in permanently, and those $1 AI deals with OpenAI and Anthropic appear to expire after a year. What that means for federal agencies that've grown accustomed to using certain premium services at a deep discount is that they'll essentially be locked in come the end of the trial period and forced to pay a premium for software that (hopefully, if you're a vendor) has become central to operations. We checked with GSA to see if it has plans to avoid lock-in issues, but didn't hear back. ®

Anthropic offers AI chatbot Claude to US government for $1

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Amazon.com-backed (AMZN.O), opens new tab Anthropic said on Tuesday it will offer its Claude AI model to the U.S. government for $1, joining a growing list of artificial intelligence startups proposing lucrative deals to win federal contracts. This comes days after OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab Gemini and Anthropic's Claude were added to the government's list of approved AI vendors. ""America's AI leadership requires that our government institutions have access to the most capable, secure AI tools available," CEO Dario Amodei said. Rival OpenAI had announced a similar offer last week, wherein ChatGPT Enterprise was made available to participating U.S. federal agencies for $1 per agency for the next year. Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Anthropic is giving Claude to the U.S. government for $1 as AI companies try to win key agencies

Dario Amodei, co-founder and CEO of artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. Anthropic on Tuesday announced it will offer Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government to all three branches of the U.S. government for $1 per agency for a year. It's the latest example of how major artificial intelligence companies have been looking to deepen their ties to policymakers and regulators in recent months. Anthropic's competitor OpenAI announced earlier this month it will give its ChatGPT Enterprise product to U.S. federal agencies for $1 through the next year. Anthropic said it partnered with the U.S. General Services Administration to bring its technology to participating agencies in the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. The company is also offering technical support to help agencies implement its AI. "America's AI leadership requires that our government institutions have access to the most capable, secure AI tools available," Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a statement.

Anthropic offers its Claude AI model to the federal government for $1

Anthropic has announced it will offer its Claude AI model to all three branches of the US government for $1, following OpenAI offering an almost identical deal last week. These deals both follow the General Services Administration adding OpenAI, Gemini and Anthropic to a list of approved AI vendors for the federal government. Similar to the OpenAI deal, Anthropic will offer access to its commercial-tier service Claude for Enterprise for a period of one year at a cost of just $1. The offer will also encompass Claude for Government, which supports FedRAMP High workloads, allowing federal workers to use Claude for sensitive unclassified work. Government department or agency leadership can reach out today to gain access. Anthropic is no stranger to working within the federal government. Earlier this summer, the Department of Defense awarded Anthropic, Google, OpenAI and XAI with deals worth up to $200 million to develop military applications. The company made no larger mention of the Trump administration's AI Action Plan, or its requirement that large language models used by the federal government be "free from top-down ideological bias." The tacit understanding is that these LLMs not espouse support for anything the current administration opposes. President Trump even issued an executive order decreeing that AI must not favor "ideological dogmas such as DEI," in order to work with the federal government. This latest deal comes as AI-related companies are increasingly looking to build close relationships with policymakers and the current administration. This week, NVIDIA agreed to a revenue-sharing agreement with the US government in order to sell its H20 AI GPUs to China. The current administration has made no secret of its wish for federal agencies to maximize their use of AI.

Anthropic is offering Claude to the US government for just $1

The San Francisco-based company becomes the latest AI player to pitch its flagship LLM to Washington, a move widely seen as a bid to win favor with President Donald Trump's administration. The announcement on Tuesday comes less than a week after OpenAI revealed a nearly identical deal, making ChatGPT available to the General Services Administration for the same token fee. According to the Financial Times, the Claude agreement clearly states that federal agencies aren't obligated to use the chatbot at all. Even if they do, Claude's use will be limited to sensitive but unclassified work. Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI have only recently been cleared to supply their chatbots to the US government. According to the Financial Times, Google is already working on a similar arrangement to offer its Gemini AI to federal agencies at a steeply discounted rate. Josh Gruenbaum, commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service -- which oversees procurement for US agencies -- told the FT that the goal is simple: "get widespread adoption [of AI tools] in the federal government." So far, multiple federal agencies have already begun experimenting with AI tools. The Pentagon has awarded $200 million in contracts to Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and xAI. Wired has also reported on AI being used inside agencies like the GSA and HUD to identify redundant federal regulations, though according to their reporting, the results have been, at best, mixed. Gruenbaum told the Financial Times that the government has no official preference for one AI provider over another. Still, it's worth noting that President Trump has made it clear the White House will refuse to do business with what it calls "woke AI" -- a label applied to any chatbot it deems to be pushing "partisan bias or ideological agendas."

Anthropic gifts Claude to the U.S. government for $1

Anthropic will offer its Claude AI model to the U.S. government for $1, the company said Tuesday. Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government will be available to all three branches of government, meaning federal agencies, legislative, and judiciary branches. "America's AI leadership requires that our government institutions have access to the most capable, secure AI tools available," CEO Dario Amodei said. The announcement comes just days after rival OpenAI struck a similar deal, gifting federal agencies ChatGPT Enterprise for $1, "helping public servants deliver for the American people," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a release. Both ChatGPT and Claude, alongside Google's Gemini, have been added to a list of AI vendors approved for government use, the General Services Administration (GSA) revealed last week. Federal workers will explore "a wide range of AI solutions, from simple research assistants powered by large language models to highly tailored, mission-specific applications," the GSA said. The AI models picked "prioritize truthfulness, accuracy, transparency, and freedom from ideological bias," the GSA added. The approved list of vendors is part of the President Donald Trump's "AI Action Plan" released July 23. The plan identifies over 90 federal policy actions that the Trump administration will take in the coming weeks and months, focused on three pillars: Accelerating Innovation, Building American AI Infrastructure, and Leading in International Diplomacy and Security. Cloud vendors have also been cashing in on the "Accelerating Innovation" part of the plan. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is gifting federal agencies up to $1 billion in credits to be used on cloud services, modernization, and training through the end of 2028, the GSA said last week. The "landmark agreement" positions AWS "to build the foundation for a more secure and innovative government of tomorrow," said AWS CEO Matt Garman. Amazon, which has invested $8 billion in Anthropic, contributed $1 million in cash to Trump's inauguration and also provided an in-kind donation by streaming the ceremony on Prime Video, valued at another $1 million. The company also served as a corporate sponsor of the White House Easter Egg Roll in April. Similarly, OpenAI executives donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee. In June, the company launched a new offering called OpenAI for Government and said it was awarded a contract of up to $200 million by the U.S. Department of Defense. CEO Jeff Bezos has also reportedly been trying to secure more federal contracts for his space technology company Blue Origin, sources told The Wall Journal. Bezos and other Blue Origin executives met with Trump on at least two occasions in June, according to the report. Former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron voiced concerns to The Atlantic in June that fear of a Trump backlash may be influencing media leaders such as Bezos, the Post's owner. "They're afraid of being made a target by Trump, that he's going to do severe damage to their other commercial interests," Baron said. "I think in the case of Bezos, he's afraid of the impact that Trump can have on Amazon, which has enormous contracts -- particularly in the area of cloud-computing services -- with the federal government."

Anthropic offering AI model to all three government branches for $1

Anthropic announced Tuesday that it will offer its artificial intelligence (AI) model Claude to all three branches of the federal government for $1, following a similar move by OpenAI last week. Federal agencies in the executive branch, as well as the legislative and judicial branches, will have access to two different versions of Claude -- Claude for Government and Claude for Enterprise, the company said in a blog post. "America's AI leadership requires that our government institutions have access to the most capable, secure AI tools available," Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a statement. "By offering expanded Claude access across all three branches of government, we're helping the federal workforce leverage frontier AI capabilities to maintain our competitive advantage and better serve the American people," he continued. The announcement comes after Claude was added to the General Services Administration's government purchasing system last week, making the AI model available for purchase and use by federal agencies. OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini and Grok's xAI have also been added to the system, known as the Multiple Award Schedule. OpenAI similarly announced last Wednesday that it was offering ChatGPT to federal agencies for $1 for the next year. Axios reported Anthropic was also planning to make its model available for the same minimal price. The push to make AI models easily available for the federal government follows the release of President Trump's AI Action Plan last month, which called for accelerating the technology's adoption in the federal government, among dozens of other recommendations.

Anthropic to offer Claude to Trump administration for $1 - The Economic Times

The 'Claude for Government' has been officially cleared for use by federal employees for sensitive, unclassified work. The development follows OpenAI's contract with the US federal agency, which levied a fee of $1 per federal agency, with additional discounts for senators, members of Congress, and top judges.Anthropic on Tuesday confirmed its tie-up with US lawmakers, offering the benefits of the Claude chatbot for a nominal fee of $1, the Financial Times reported. The development follows OpenAI's contract with the US federal agency, which levied a fee of $1 per federal agency, with additional discounts for senators, members of Congress, and top judges. A Bloomberg report on August 5 highlighted that Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google are the approved artificial intelligence (AI) vendors for US federal agencies. ET also reported that Anthropic's Claude got listed on the US General Services Administration's (GSA) schedule, making its products readily accessible to US federal government departments with pre-negotiated pricing and terms that comply with federal acquisition regulations. The report by FT mentioned that officials are attempting to get widespread adoption of AI tools in the federal government. The 'Claude for Government' has been officially cleared for use by federal employees for "sensitive" and "unclassified work." Claude for Government is a more specialised variant built for areas like defence and intelligence. The company's website mentions use cases such as enhancing government workflows, including document analysis and regulatory review.

Anthropic, Claude To US Government For $1 As AI Tech Woos DC - Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)

For a buck, Uncle Sam can now have Claude -- Anthropic's AI assistant -- at his service in the latest move by tech giants to charm Washington, D.C. and secure a foothold in the federal AI race. Anthropic, the AI startup backed by Amazon.com Inc AMZN, announced on Tuesday that it would offer its large-language model to all federal agencies for $1. The San Francisco-based start-up said access to Claude will allow government employees to "improve and accelerate their work, ranging from groundbreaking scientific breakthroughs to mission-critical national security operations, and we can't wait for more partners to use Claude's capabilities to advance their missions." See Also: Apple's 'BlackBerry Moment' Looms Without These 3 Bold AI Moves, Warns Dan Ives Anthropic's government models are certified for FedRAMP High, the highest requirement for handling unclassified sensitive government data. The company said agencies can access Claude through existing infrastructure with Amazon Web Services for cloud computing, Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR and Alphabet Inc's GOOG GOOGL Google Cloud. Several Claude's competitors in the AI industry have also vied to win federal contracts in recent months. On Aug. 6, OpenAI, the AI start-up backed by Microsoft Corp MSFT, announced it would offer similar services to the federal government through the U.S. General Services Administration. "One of the best ways to make sure AI works for everyone is to put it in the hands of the people serving our country," CEO Sam Altman said in the announcement. "We're proud to partner with the General Services Administration, delivering on President Trump's AI Action Plan, to make ChatGPT available across the federal government, helping public servants deliver for the American people." Under the partnership, participating agencies will receive access to ChatGPT models for $1 along with educational tools. Meanwhile, Microsoft, Oracle Corp ORCL, Salesforce Inc CRM, and other tech giants have raced to offer discounts to government agencies to win contracts, according to the Wall Street Journal. Trump has prioritized eliminating waste in government spending in his second term. Yet the federal government has already spent $3.6 trillion from January to June of 2025. That's up $142 billion from this same period last year, according to the latest Monthly Treasury Statement. Now Read: Satya Nadella Says He Used To Gaze Over The Lake And Wish Netflix Would Use Azure, But Is Happy The Tide Has Turned With OpenAI Image: Shutterstock AMZNAmazon.com Inc$221.380.04%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it? Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Reveal Full ScoreEdge RankingsMomentum71.03Growth88.77Quality66.72Value51.01Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewCRMSalesforce Inc$231.59-0.47%GOOGAlphabet Inc$204.001.18%GOOGLAlphabet Inc$203.211.10%MSFTMicrosoft Corp$529.001.39%ORCLOracle Corp$253.850.46%PLTRPalantir Technologies Inc$186.662.18%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Anthropic Offers Claude to US Government Workers for $1 | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. The offer echoes a similar $1 deal OpenAI unveiled a week ago. But OpenAI's offer was only available to the federal executive branch. Anthropic covers all three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. "America's AI leadership requires that our government institutions have access to the most capable, secure AI tools available," Anthropic CEO and Co-founder Dario Amodei said in a statement. The moves come at a time when businesses are increasingly integrating generative artificial intelligence (AI) into workflows, although they are tempering wholeheartedly embracing the technology. A recent PYMNTS data book shows that while businesses are using AI in a variety of ways, they also are using it with human oversight. Anthropic said it is offering a more capable Claude than the consumer version: "Claude for Enterprise" and "Claude for Government." "Claude for Enterprise" is the version of the AI chatbot with more power, customization and security than consumer versions, the company said. "Claude for Government" supports the "FedRAMP High" to enable federal workers to use the chatbot for "sensitive unclassified" work. FedRAMP stands for Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, which is the standardized process for assessing and authorizing the security of cloud products and services. It requires low, moderate or high levels depending on the severity of potential risk exposure. OpenAI is offering "ChatGPT for Enterprise" as well as educational tools and training through OpenAI Academy Training. Anthropic also offers technical support but didn't specify a specific program. Google is reportedly in talks to offer its Gemini chatbot under similar terms, according to the Financial Times. Other AI players are also jockeying for influence in the public sector. XAI said last month that it has secured a contract worth up to $200 million from the Department of Defense for its "Grok for Government" program. Anthropic said Claude has also been selected by the Defense Department for the $200 million contract. Moreover, Claude is already being used by 10,000 scientists and researchers at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, as well as by the District of Columbia Department of Health for consumers. OpenAI said ChatGPT is already being used by Pennsylvania state workers, in a pilot program. These workers have saved an average of about 95 minutes per day on routine tasks, according to OpenAI. North Carolina state workers also used ChatGPT in a 12-week pilot program. Read more: Anthropic Unveils Claude Opus 4.1 in Dueling Releases With OpenAI Anthropic Seeks $170 Billion Valuation in Iconiq-Led Funding Round