Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, has pushed for greater government regulation of AI in ways that echo elements of the Washington playbook employed by convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried during his time as a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, a review of public records shows.Both Anthropic and Bankman-Fried poured millions of dollars into Washington influence campaigns while publicly arguing that government rules were needed to make their respective industries safer, although the money flowed through notably different channels.Critics in both industries have accused them of using regulation to strengthen their competitive positions.
Bankman-Fried’s political operation later became part of a criminal case involving illegal campaign contributions, while Anthropic’s spending has consisted of disclosed lobbying and advocacy efforts.Anthropic, for its part, denies this characterization.Bankman-Fried, meanwhile, later said his public posture on regulation was essentially "just PR" in a social media direct-message exchange published days after FTX collapsed.Anthropic has been pushing Washington to put guardrails around the fast-moving AI industry, warning that increasingly powerful models could pose serious national security and public safety risks.
CEO Dario Amodei has called for mandatory testing and auditing of advanced models, while the company has spent millions lobbying policymakers and backing groups that support tougher AI rules.WHITE HOUSE MEETS AI FIRM ANTHROPIC AMID POLITICAL TENSIONS, PENTAGON DISPUTEDario Amodei, co-founder and chief executive officer of Anthropic, during an interview on "The Circuit with Emily Chang" at Anthropic's headquarters in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, April 30, 2026.Anthropic is testing a different version of leadership, one where the CEO protects nearly all of his time for big-picture conversations, organizational culture, and giving input on research direction and strategy, rather th...