Anthropic unveils custom AI models for U.S. national security customers

Anthropic says that it has released a new set of AI models tailored for U.S. national security customers.

The new models, a custom set of “Claude Gov” models, were “built based on direct feedback from our government customers to address real-world operational needs,” writes Anthropic in a blog post. Compared to Anthropic’s consumer- and enterprise-focused models, the new custom Claude Gov models were designed to be applied to government operations like strategic planning, operational support, and intelligence analysis.

“[These] models are already deployed by agencies at the highest level of U.S. national security, and access to these models is limited to those who operate in such classified environments,” writes Anthropic in its post. “[They] underwent the same rigorous safety testing as all of our Claude models.”

Anthropic has increasingly engaged U.S. government customers as it looks for dependable new sources of revenue. In November, the company teamed up with Palantir and AWS, the cloud computing division of Anthropic’s major partner and investor, Amazon, to sell Anthropic’s AI to defense customers.

Anthropic says that its new custom Claude Gov models better handle classified material, “refuse less” when engaging with classified information, and have a greater understanding of documents within intelligence and defense contexts. The models also have “enhanced proficiency” in languages and dialects critical to national security operations, Anthropic says, as well as “improved understanding and interpretation of complex cybersecurity data for intelligence analysis.”

Anthropic isn’t the only top AI lab going after defense contracts.

OpenAI is seeking to establish a closer relationship with the U.S. Defense Department, and Meta recently revealed that it’s making its Llama models available to defense partners. Google is refining a version of its Gemini AI capable of working within classified environments. Meanwhile, Cohere, which primarily builds AI products for businesses, is also collaborating with Palantir to deploy its AI models, TechCrunch exclusively reported early last December.