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Banned by the Pentagon, No.1 on the App Store: How Claude Surged Amid Controversy
Political conflict over AI is raging in the US, but amid this controversy, Anthropic's Cloud app suddenly became the No. 1 app in the App Store. It surpassed ChatGPT and Google Gemini in downloads.
Anthropic’s AI chatbot app, Claude, led Apple’s US free app chart late Saturday night. The increase in downloads occurred as the Trump administration began to restrict federal agencies from using the company’s AI technology.
The controversy escalated when Anthropic refused to use its AI for large-scale domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons. This resulted in a head-on collision with the US defense system.
US President Donald Trump expressed his criticism of the company on Truth Social, stating that Anthropic is attempting to impose its will on the Department of Defense. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that he has asked for the company to be identified as a national security supply chain risk. If this happens, US defense contractors will be unable to use the company's tools.
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Responding to this, the company's CEO, Dario Amodei, stated that the Department of Defense reserves the right to select contractors according to its vision, but expressed hope that officials will reconsider considering the company's technology's contribution to military use.
Interestingly, this controversy has increased public demand for Cloud AI. According to statistics, on January 30th, the app ranked 131st in downloads. However, by the end of February, it surpassed ChatGPT (second place) and Google Gemini (fourth place). The company's number of free users has increased by 60% since January, and the number of daily sign-ups has tripled. According to the company, paid subscriptions have also more than doubled this year.
Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, Anthropic has established a strong presence over the past year, particularly in the areas of coding and enterprise AI model supply. Meanwhile, OpenAI, whose ChatGPT service reportedly has over 900 million weekly users, recently expanded its partnerships with consulting firms like Accenture and Capgemini. On Friday night, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company had reached an agreement with the US Department of Defense to deploy its models.
Amidst these controversies, Anthropic is also receiving support from Hollywood. Singer Katy Perry shared a screenshot of her Cloud Pro subscription on social media, further fueling public interest in the app. It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration's restrictions will halt the app's momentum or whether this controversy will propel it to new heights.
