Charles Esther
Just one week after OpenAI announced it would provide ChatGPT Enterprise to the entire U.S. federal executive branch for $1 per agency per year, Anthropic has upped the ante.
On Tuesday, the company revealed it will offer its Claude AI models to government agencies for the same price — but across all three branches of the U.S. government: executive, legislative, and judicial.
The offer will be valid for one year.
A Competitive Response to OpenAI’s Federal Push
This move follows the recent addition of Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google DeepMind to the General Services Administration’s list of approved AI vendors authorized to sell services to civilian federal agencies.
By expanding eligibility beyond the executive branch, Anthropic aims to secure a larger share of federal AI usage.
Anthropic’s Public Interest Statement
In its announcement, Anthropic emphasized its belief that the U.S. public sector should have access to advanced AI tools to address complex issues — from scientific research to citizen services.
The company stated it will maintain high security standards while ensuring broad accessibility, framing the move as an effort to serve the public interest.
Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government
Anthropic will offer two packages: Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government.
The latter is certified for FedRAMP High, a rigorous security standard for handling sensitive but unclassified government data.
This ensures federal workers can use Claude for sensitive workloads while meeting stringent compliance requirements.
Technical Support for Federal Integration
Alongside its AI access, Anthropic will provide technical support to help agencies integrate Claude into existing workflows.
The company is already working with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to accelerate scientific research and with the D.C. Department of Health to provide multilingual health service access.
Strategic Positioning in Federal AI Security
Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, and Google have each secured up to $200 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to apply AI in national security contexts.
However, Anthropic’s ambitions clearly extend beyond defense, targeting science, health, and other civilian sectors.
Multicloud Advantage Over Competitors
Claude can be accessed through AWS, Google Cloud, and Palantir, giving agencies flexibility and control over their infrastructure.
This multicloud capability may give Anthropic an edge over OpenAI, whose FedRAMP High offering currently runs only on Microsoft’s Azure Government Cloud.
While Azure is widely used, some agencies value data sovereignty and operational flexibility — areas where multicloud can be a differentiator.
OpenAI’s Infrastructure Shift
OpenAI is reportedly working to reduce reliance on Azure and move toward a more diversified infrastructure approach, potentially narrowing Anthropic’s current advantage.
David Awoyode