Anthropic has launched the Anthropic Institute, a new research initiative, and opened its first Public Policy office in Washington, DC, this spring. These steps follow the AI company's recent federal lawsuit against the US government over a Defense Department supply chain risk designation tied to a contract dispute.
Building on its March 9 lawsuit challenging the US Defense Department's supply chain risk label—stemming from Anthropic's refusal to lift safeguards on its Claude AI for military use—the company announced expansions in policy and research.
Anthropic is tripling its Public Policy team size and establishing its first DC office this spring, as reported by Axios. Sarah Heck, new Head of External Affairs, will lead policy efforts, succeeding co-founder Jack Clark, who shifts to Head of Public Benefit overseeing the Anthropic Institute.
The institute will consolidate and expand existing groups: the Frontier Red Team (AI stress-testing), Societal Impacts team (real-world applications), and Economic Research team (job/economy effects). It aims to share insights on AI's challenges, including economic reshaping and new risks. Founding members include Matt Botvinick (ex-Google DeepMind) and Zoë Hitzig (ex-OpenAI).
In a related court hearing, Anthropic sought assurances against further penalties from the Trump administration, which declined. Sources indicate a potential new White House executive order targeting the company.
