The CEO of the AI startup Anthropic is pushing back against “inaccurate claims” and criticism from a top advisor to President Donald Trump. In a statement on Tuesday, CEO Dario Amodei said his company is aligned with the Trump administration on “key areas of AI policy” and wants to work with “anyone serious about getting this right.”
The public spat started after David Sacks, a venture capitalist who serves as Trump’s AI and crypto czar, accused Anthropic of “fear-mongering” and trying to push a “Woke AI” agenda through state-level regulations. Sacks was particularly critical of a recent essay by one of Anthropic’s co-founders and slammed the company for supporting a new AI safety bill in California.
In his response, Amodei tried to clear the air. He said that Anthropic has always believed that a single, federal approach to AI regulation is better than a messy “patchwork of state laws.”
“When we agree, we say so. When we don’t, we propose an alternative for consideration,” Amodei said, emphasizing that his company’s mission is to “ensure that AI benefits everyone and to maintain America’s lead in AI.”
Anthropic is one of the hottest startups in the AI world, with its valuation soaring to $183 billion in just four years. The company was founded by a group of former OpenAI executives who left over safety concerns. This public clash with a key Trump advisor highlights the tricky political landscape that these powerful new AI companies must navigate.
