Anthropic and California Gov. Newsom strike deal for discounted Claude access in state government
Under the agreement, all California state agencies and local governments can use Anthropic's AI chatbot Claude at a reduced price, with training and support included, to help employees draft documents and analyze information.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and AI company Anthropic have reached a deal that grants state and local government agencies access to the Claude AI chatbot at a discounted rate. The agreement also includes training and support from Anthropic. According to a press release from the Governor's office, Claude will assist state employees in drafting documents and analyzing information.
“AI should not replace the human work of government; it should help our workers move faster, solve problems more effectively, and deliver better results for Californians,” Newsom said in a statement.
This deal follows Newsom's March executive order aimed at accelerating the use of AI to make government more efficient while maintaining strong safety standards. “While others in Washington are designing policy and creating contracts in the shadow of misuse, we’re focused on doing this the right way,” Newsom stated at the time.
As Anthropic deepens its relationship with California, the federal government has taken a confrontational stance toward the OpenAI rival. Earlier this year, Anthropic clashed with the U.S. Department of Defense over a contract that would allow the agency to deploy Claude for any lawful use. Anthropic sought explicit protections to prevent the government from using its technology for surveillance of Americans or deploying autonomous weapons without human oversight. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused, and the department signed a deal with OpenAI instead. The government went so far as to declare Anthropic a “supply-chain risk,” barring the company from working with other Pentagon contractors.
California's CIO and Department of Technology director Chris Given told POLITICO that the supply-chain risk designation “just didn't come up” during negotiations for the Anthropic contract.
