Anthropic said Thursday that “virtually no progress” had been made in the company’s talks with the Pentagon over the terms of use for its AI models ahead of a Friday afternoon deadline. The

The Defense Department has been feuding with Anthropic over military uses of its artificial intelligence tools. At stake are hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts and access to some of the most advanced AI on the planet.

The administration is threatening both to blacklist the company and to force it to allow its Claude AI model to be used as the Pentagon wishes.

CEO Dario Amodei’s statement came less than 24 hours before the deadline in the Pentagon’s ultimatum. Less than 24 hours before the deadline in an ultimatum issued by the Pentagon, Anthropic has refused the Department of Defense’s demands for unrestricted access to its AI.

Anthropic has reached a familiar crossroads for a growing tech company: how to scale without compromising the principles that set it apart.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic until Friday at 5 p.m. to grant the military unresticted use of its AI technology.

Anthropic announced its acquisition of Vercept this week, in a move that signals the company’s intent to move further into full computer interaction.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said on Thursday the company "cannot in good conscience accede" to the military's terms over the use of Claude.