Plantir CEO Alex Karp has acknowledged that his company is still using Anthropic’s Claude AI models, even after the Pentagon officially designated the AI giant as a supply chain risk. Speaking at Palantir’s AIPcon 9 in Maryland, Karp told CNBC: “The Department of War is planning to phase out Anthropic; currently, it’s not phased out. Our products are integrated with Anthropic, and in the future, it will probably be integrated with other large language models.” Last week the Department of Defense labeled Anthropic as a supply chain risk, a designation reserved only for foreign adversaries. The move requires defense contractors and vendors to certify they are not using Claude in Pentagon-related work. As reported by CNBC, despite this designation, Claude models are still being used to support US military operations in Iran.
Anthropic’s legal challenge
Responding to this, Anthropic sued the Trump administration, calling the designation “unprecedented and unlawful”. The company is now seeking a stay on Pentagon’s action, arguing that hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts were at risk.
Transition plan in place at Pentagon
Defense Department CTO Emil Michael told CNBC that it will take time to transition away from Anthropic’s models, noting: “You can’t just rip out a system that’s deeply embedded overnight.” President Donald Trump has said federal agencies will have six months to phase out Anthropic’s products, though an internal Pentagon memo indicated exemptions may be granted for mission-critical operations if no viable alternatives exist.
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Reliance of Plantir on Claude underscores the complexity of disentangling AI systems from defense operations, even after a formal ban. While the Pentagon has set a six-month timeline, both officials and contractors acknowledge that exceptions may be necessary to avoid disrupting sensitive military missions.
