Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include comments from an Anthropic spokesperson.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei reportedly told employees that the company would seek funding from Middle-Eastern states despite ethical concerns, arguing that staying competitive in the global AI race requires access to massive capital, even if it empowers authoritarian regimes.
What Happened: Amodei told staff via Slack that the artificial intelligence startup backed by Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google would pursue investment from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, reversing its previous stance against accepting funds from authoritarian nations, reported Wired.
"Unfortunately, I think ‘No bad person should ever benefit from our success' is a pretty difficult principle to run a business on," Amodei wrote, acknowledging that such investments would likely enrich "dictators."
He admitted the move could appear hypocritical but framed it as necessary to remain on the AI frontier: "Without it, it is substantially harder to stay on the frontier."
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Amodei cited the scale of available capital in the Middle East—upwards of $100 billion—as a driving force behind the decision. He said Anthropic aims to pursue "narrowly scoped, purely financial investment" to avoid granting foreign investors leverage.
An Anthropic spokesperson told the publication, "We believe fundamentally in sharing the benefits of AI and serve the Middle East and regions around the world commercially, in line with our Usage Policy."
An Anthropic spokesperson told Benzinga in an emailed statement, “We believe fundamentally in sharing the benefits of AI and serve the Middle East and regions around the world commercially, in line with our Usage Policy.”
Why It's Important: Anthropic's decision mirrors moves by ChatGPT-parent OpenAI, which has partnered with a UAE state-backed firm to build data infrastructure abroad.
In 2024, Anthropic had rejected Saudi funding over national security concerns.
In May earlier this year, President Donald Trump visited the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia during a four-day tour centered on boosting economic ties.
He was accompanied by a group of prominent tech figures — including Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang — for a meeting with Saudi Arabia's crown prince.
Notably, Anthropic's executives were not in attendance.
Earlier this year, Nvidia criticized AI startup Anthropic for supporting stricter U.S. export controls on AI chips to China. The clash followed Anthropic’s blog post describing bizarre smuggling attempts involving chips hidden in fake baby bumps and lobster shipments.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
