Technology

White House says meeting with Anthropic ‘productive and constructive’

Comments:

by Miranda Nazzaro - 04/17/26 6:23 PM ET

Comments:

Link copied

by Miranda Nazzaro - 04/17/26 6:23 PM ET

Comments:

Link copied

NOW PLAYING

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met with senior administration officials at the White House Friday, sparking new questions over the future of the artificial intelligence firm’s relationship with the Trump administration amid its ongoing battle with the Pentagon.

The White House said the “introductory meeting” with the company was “both productive and constructive.”

“We discussed opportunities for collaboration, as well as shared approaches and protocols to address the challenges associated with scaling this technology,” the White House added in a statement shared with The Hill. “The conversation also explored the balance between advancing innovation and ensuring safety. We look forward to continuing this dialogue and will host similar discussions with other leading AI companies.”

A spokesperson for Anthropic confirmed the meeting, stating Amodei had a “productive discussion on how Anthropic and the U.S. government can work together on key shared priorities such as cybersecurity, America’s lead in the AI race, and AI safety.”

The high-stakes meeting involved Amodei, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Axios first reported. The Hill reached out to the Treasury Department for comment.

“The meeting reflected Anthropic’s ongoing commitment to engaging with the U.S. government on the development of responsible AI,” the Anthropic spokesperson said. “We are grateful for their time and are looking forward to continuing these discussions.”

It comes just more than a week after Anthropic announced it would limit the release of its new Mythos model to a limited set of companies, banks and government entities given its cybersecurity capabilities. While the tool can help governments find cybersecurity vulnerabilities in infrastructure, web browsers or software, it also makes it much easier for hackers to exploit these security gaps.

Upon learning about Mythos and its capabilities earlier this month, multiple Trump administration officials quickly engaged with Anthropic, despite its ongoing legal fight with the Pentagon.

Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell convened Wall Street executives last week to discuss the cybersecurity concerns, multiple people familiar with the meeting told The Hill. CNBC later reported the Treasury secretary joined Vice President Vance on a call with a group of technology leaders, including Amodei, xAI CEO and former Trump adviser Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, to discuss the security of AI models.

Friday’s meeting could signal a new chapter for Anthropic’s rocky relationship with the Trump administration. It comes nearly two months after negotiations between the Pentagon and Anthropic fell apart over safety guardrails, prompting the Pentagon to label the company as a supply chain risk.

President Trump also directed federal civilian agencies to stop using Anthropic’s models, prompting the company to sue the federal government. A preliminary injunction was granted by a California federal judge, putting a temporary pause on the government’s directive not to use Anthropic’s technology.

Mythos has already found thousands of high-security vulnerabilities, some of which date back more than two decades, according to Anthropic. Multiple banks on Wall Street are already using the model to spot vulnerabilities, while technology firms like Google and Apple are testing it as part of Anthropic’s new security initiative Project Glasswing.

Anthropic is also in conversations with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Center for AI Standards and Innovation about Mythos, a company official told The Hill earlier this week. Bloomberg reported this week that the White House is preparing to make a version of Anthropic’s AI model available to major federal agencies.

Filip Timotija contributed.

Add as preferred source on Google