Anthropic teams up with Palantir and AWS to sell its AI to defense customers

On Thursday, Anthropic announced a collaboration with Palantir Technologies, a well-known data-mining firm, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to enable U.S. intelligence and defense agencies to utilize its Claude family of AI models. This partnership highlights a larger trend in the technology sector, where various AI vendors are actively seeking to establish connections with U.S. defense organizations for both strategic and revenue growth reasons.

In a competitive landscape, other prominent tech companies are also pursuing similar paths; for example, Meta has recently made its Llama series of AI models accessible to defense partners, while OpenAI is working through government contractor Carahsoft to build closer ties with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Kate Earle Jensen, Anthropic’s head of sales, emphasized that the collaboration with Palantir and AWS will offer a comprehensive technology suite to facilitate the operational use of Claude within Palantir’s framework while capitalizing on AWS’s adaptability. Jensen expressed pride in contributing to the deployment of responsible AI solutions in classified U.S. environments, enhancing analytical capabilities and operational efficiencies for essential government tasks. She noted that having access to Claude 3 and Claude 3.5 within the Palantir platform on AWS would empower U.S. defense and intelligence agencies with advanced AI tools, enabling them to efficiently process and analyze enormous amounts of complex data. This advancement is expected to significantly enhance intelligence analysis, support decision-making, streamline labor-intensive tasks, and improve overall operational efficiency across various departments.

Earlier this summer, Anthropic expanded its footprint in the public sector by introducing select Claude models to AWS’s GovCloud. This move indicated the company’s intention to attract more public sector clients. GovCloud serves as AWS’s solution for U.S. government entities, allowing them to handle sensitive workloads securely in the cloud. While Anthropic has sought to differentiate itself as a more safety-conscious AI vendor compared to OpenAI, its terms of service stipulate that Claude can be deployed for specific tasks such as “legally authorized foreign intelligence analysis,” “identifying covert influence or sabotage campaigns,” and “providing early warnings of potential military activities.”

Through the integration of Claude into the Palantir platform via AWS, Anthropic aims to bolster the capabilities of defense and intelligence organizations by providing tools designed to address the complexities of contemporary data analysis and operational decision-making. By positioning itself at the intersection of advanced AI technology, cloud services, and defense solutions, Anthropic is not only expanding its customer base but also contributing to the evolving landscape of digital modernization within U.S. defense operations.