Technology Newsletter OpenAI feels the heat by Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro - 03/03/26 5:54 PM ET by Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro - 03/03/26 5:54 PM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email 96 {beacon} Technology Technology   The Big Story   OpenAI plays defense while Anthropic surges  OpenAI is in the hot seat this week over the artificial intelligence company’s new deal with the Pentagon , struck just hours after the agency’s negotiations with competitor Anthropic over safety guardrails fell apart.    © Greg Nash OpenAI is in the hot seat this week over the artificial intelligence company’s new deal with the Pentagon, struck just hours after the agency’s negotiations with competitor Anthropic over safety guardrails fell apart.   The response was nearly immediate, with uninstalls of its flagship ChatGPT app rising 295 percent day-over-day last Saturday, according to  reports citing market intelligence provider Sensor Tower. Meanwhile, Anthropic’s Claude app  hit No. 1   in the App Store as users flocked to the app in a possible sign of support.   By Monday evening, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman   shared an internal post  to X detailing  new additions  to the Pentagon agreements to make the company’s “principles very clear.” In doing so, the company’s co-founder acknowledged the company “shouldn’t have rushed to get this out” last Friday.     “The issues are super complex and demand clear communication,” Altman wrote. “We were genuinely trying to de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome, but I think it just looked opportunistic and sloppy.”    While Altman called it a “good learning experience,” it is unclear whether the admission will placate critics or rebuild trust following the backlash. Multiple users on X responded to Altman’s post by requesting the contract itself to be released in a show of transparency.     In one response to Altman’s post with 13,000 views, one user  said the “only way”  to “ regain any trust ” is to release the contract document itself, writing, “You guys completely torched your brand and integrity on this.”     The spat has gotten the attention of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, with Democratic Sen.  Brian Schatz  (Hawaii)  posting to X  Tuesday that he “just downloaded Claude.” The issue could also be the beginning of a legislative debate.     Read more on TheHill.com     Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter , I’m Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future:   OpenAI adds protections to Pentagon deal OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Monday that the company has added further protections to its agreement with the Defense Department to bring its AI models to the military’s classified network. The latest additions come as the ChatGPT maker faced pushback over the deal, which came on the heels of the Trump administration’s announcement Friday that it was cutting off its work with Anthropic and labeling the company a supply chain risk. …  Full Story Trump slams banks over crypto bill holdup, urges Congress to pass act ‘ASAP’ President Trump criticized the banking industry Tuesday, alleging that the stablecoin bill he signed into law last year is “being threatened and undermined by the banks.” The Senate’s efforts to pass a key cryptocurrency market bill has remained at a standstill in recent weeks, as the banking and crypto industries have sought to hash out a dispute over a provision in the GENIUS Act, which established a regulatory framework …  Full Story   Amazon data centers struck, damaged by drone strikes in Middle East Amazon on Tuesday said three data centers in the Middle East were recovering from drone strikes that left some of their customers without service.  “In the UAE [United Arab Emirates], two of our facilities were directly struck, while in Bahrain, a drone strike in close proximity to one of our facilities caused physical impacts to our infrastructure,” the company wrote in a Tuesday post.  “These strikes have caused structural …  Full Story   The Refresh  News we’ve flagged from  t he intersection of tech and other topics: Anduril aims at $60 billion valuation in new funding round ( TechCrunch ) A ‘fight about vibes