Anthropic’s AI assistant Claude surged to the top of Apple’s list of most downloaded free apps in the U.S. on Saturday evening, just one day after the Trump administration moved to prevent federal agencies from adopting the company’s technology.
The spike followed a high-profile dispute between the startup and the White House. The administration objected to Anthropic’s stance that its AI systems should not be used for fully autonomous military equipment or large-scale domestic monitoring.
That position drew sharp criticism from Trump, who accused the company of attempting to impose its own rules on the federal government. In a post on Truth Social, Trump argued that Anthropic was trying to pressure the Defense Department to follow its service terms rather than the U.S. Constitution.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that he had requested that Anthropic be designated a national security supply chain concern. If such a classification were applied, defense contractors would be barred from using the company’s tools in government projects.
Anthropic co-founder and chief executive Dario Amodei responded, saying that the department has the authority to choose partners that fit its objectives but expressed hope that officials would reconsider the decision in light of the value Claude offers.
Despite the controversy, consumer interest in Claude appears to be growing. Historically, competing AI chatbots have attracted more downloads. On Saturday, ChatGPT ranked second on the U.S. App Store chart, while Gemini held the fourth position.
According to Sensor Tower data, the Claude app sat outside the top 100 in January, ranking 131st nationwide. Throughout February, it moved steadily upward, spending much of the month within the top 20. ChatGPT maintained the leading position for most of that period, according to the same data.
Anthropic says user growth has accelerated sharply. A company spokesperson reported that the number of free accounts has risen by more than 60% since January. Daily registrations have tripled since last November, setting new internal records daily. Paid subscriptions have also increased significantly, more than doubling since the start of the year.
Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers, Anthropic has positioned itself as a provider of advanced AI systems for programming and business applications. Meanwhile, OpenAI continues to expand its reach. The company says ChatGPT now serves more than 900 million weekly users and has recently formed partnerships with consulting giants Capgemini and Accenture to strengthen its enterprise footprint.
Late Friday, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman announced that his company had finalized an agreement with the Department of Defense to deploy its AI models. Shortly afterward, pop star Katy Perry shared an image on social media showing her subscription to Anthropic’s paid Claude plan, adding a heart symbol over the screenshot.
The fallout between Anthropic and the Pentagon brings to light matters of AI governance and ethics. Other players in the AI industry like Core AI Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CHAI) would be well-advised to periodically review their policies that govern how AI is used in their products so that avoidable compliance issues are sidestepped right from the get-go.
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