Anthropic Strikes $1 Deal With U.S. Government, Joins AI Vendor Race

Anthropic, an Amazon-backed AI firm, has entered the competitive fray for government contracts by offering its Claude AI to U.S. federal agencies for a nominal $1 fee. This strategic MOVE mirrors OpenAI’s recent $1-per-agency offer for ChatGPT Enterprise, underscoring the intensifying race among AI startups to secure public-sector adoption.

The Biden administration’s AI Action Plan gains momentum as Claude joins ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini on the government’s approved tools list. "America’s AI leadership requires that our government institutions have access to the most capable, secure AI tools available," asserts Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, positioning the deal as both a technological showcase and a long-term partnership play.

Federal agencies now face an embarrassment of AI riches—multiple cutting-edge platforms available at symbolic pricing. This subsidized access period allows vendors to demonstrate operational value before larger procurement decisions, creating a proving ground for enterprise-scale AI implementation.