Why Google’s Lockstep Move to Keep Anthropic AI on Cloud—Even After Pentagon Flags It—Could Make or Break the Future of AI Investing
Isn’t it fascinating how the greatest tech titans keep playing chess while the rest of us watch checkers? Just when you thought the AI cloud wars couldn’t get more tangled, Google and Microsoft drop a bombshell: they’re sticking with Anthropic’s AI models for their cloud platforms — but with one heck of a caveat, steering clear of any defense-related projects. Now, this all flared up after the Pentagon slapped Anthropic with a “supply chain risk” label, triggering a scramble that sounds more like a spy thriller than your everyday tech drama. Despite the military’s cold shoulder, Google’s doubling down—literally pouring billions into Anthropic—and even Amazon’s joining the fray, keeping Claude alive for cloud customers while dodging DoD contracts. So, here’s a question: when billion-dollar bets and national security tug at opposite ends, who wins, who folds, and how does that reshape the future of AI business? Strap in—with this evolving saga, the stakes aren’t just sky-high; they’re orbiting the stratosphere. LEARN MORE.

Google said it will continue offering artificial intelligence models from Anthropic to customers through its cloud platform, excluding defense-related work, a day after Microsoft issued a similar statement.
The announcements from two of the world’s largest cloud infrastructure providers follow the US Defense Department’s designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk.
A Google spokesperson said Friday that the determination does not prevent the company from working with Anthropic on non defense related projects and that its products will remain available through platforms such as Google Cloud.
Anthropic’s Claude models are available through Google Cloud via the Vertex AI platform. Google is also a significant financial backer of the company. In January 2025, the search giant committed an additional $1 billion investment in Anthropic, adding to its previous $2 billion stake.
Anthropic uses Google Cloud infrastructure to train its models and recently expanded its partnership with the company, gaining access to up to one million of Google’s custom tensor processing units.
The dispute began after Anthropic declined to agree to new terms requested by the US Department of Defense regarding the use of its AI systems.
Following the disagreement, President Donald Trump instructed federal agencies to stop using Anthropic technology. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth later said the Pentagon would phase out its work with the company over a six month period.
Some defense technology firms have already told employees to stop using Anthropic’s Claude models and switch to alternatives from rival providers such as OpenAI.
Microsoft was the first major cloud partner to confirm it would continue supporting Anthropic products despite the Pentagon designation.
Microsoft said Thursday that its lawyers reviewed the designation and concluded that Anthropic products, including Claude, can remain available to customers other than the Department of War.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said the company plans to challenge the government’s supply chain risk designation in court.
A late Friday report confirmed that Amazon will also continue offering Anthropic’s artificial intelligence technology to its cloud customers, excluding work involving the Department of Defense.



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