Anthropic CEO disputes David Sacks’ claims that company is ‘woke’

Antropik CEO Dario Amodei on Tuesday addressed After facing repeated criticism from venture capitalist David Sacks, who served as President Donald Trump’s AI and crypto czar, what he called “false claims” about the AI ​​startup’s policy stances.

Amodei said the company is aligned with the Trump administration on “key areas of AI policy” and is interested in working with “anyone who is serious about doing this right.”

“I fully believe that Anthropic, the administration, and leaders across the political spectrum want the same thing: to ensure that powerful AI technology benefits the American people and ensures America’s advancement and leadership in AI development,” Amodei said in a statement. he said.

Anthropic was founded in 2021 by a group of former OpenAI executives, including Amodei, who left the company over security concerns. It is one of the startups at the center of the AI ​​boom, with its valuation rising to $183 billion in just four years.

The company came to Sacks’ attention last week after a report by Jack Clark, Anthropic’s co-founder and current head of policy. an article This phenomenon, called “Technological Optimism and Appropriate Fear,” sparked a debate about online AI regulation.

Sacks criticized the article and accused Anthropic of “running a sophisticated regulatory catch-up strategy based on fear mongering.” to mail About X. He said the company is “primarily responsible for the state regulatory frenzy that has damaged the startup ecosystem.”

Anthropic opposed Trump’s proposed amendment to the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which would suspend state-level AI laws for 10 years. This provision ultimately failed and was not included in the legislation.

The company also supported a bill in California that would require major AI developers to make their model security protocols publicly available; however, there are exemptions for companies with less than $500 million in annual gross revenue.

Billionaire tech investor and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman defended Anthropic on Monday, calling the startup “one of the good guys.” Hoffman was an early investor in OpenAI, Anthropic’s biggest rival, and remains a shareholder. On Monday, he announced that Greylock, of which he is a partner, invested in Anthropic.

Sacks quickly responded to Hoffman’s post, and the two argued back and forth on Monday. The “real issue” is “Anthropic’s agenda to backdoor Woke AI and other AI regulations through Blue states like California,” Sacks wrote in a post.

Amodei sought to clarify Anthropic’s view on Tuesday, writing that the company’s long-standing position is that a uniform federal approach is preferred over a patchwork of state laws.”

“When we agree, we say so. When we disagree, we propose an alternative for consideration,” Amodei said. “We do this because we are a public interest company with a mission to ensure that AI benefits everyone and maintain America’s leadership in AI.”

“Once again, we believe we have shared these goals with the Trump administration, both parties in Congress, and the public,” he said.

WRISTWATCH: Watch CNBC’s full interview with White House AI czar David Sacks