Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei meets White House staff despite ongoing lawsuit

The White House has characterised a recent meeting with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei as "productive and constructive," signalling a potential shift in the administration's stance toward the artificial intelligence firm.

According to Axios, Amodei met on Friday with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

The discussions focused on finding a balance between "advancing innovation and ensuring safety" as the company scales its advanced technologies.

This high-level dialogue follows the release of Claude Mythos, a preview tool reportedly capable of outperforming humans in complex cybersecurity tasks, including the autonomous exploitation of software vulnerabilities.

The meeting is particularly notable given the current administration’s previously hostile rhetoric. Two months ago, the White House dismissed Anthropic as a "radical left" company, and President Trump personally criticised its leadership on social media.

Furthermore, Anthropic is currently embroiled in legal action against the Department of Defense after being designated a "supply chain risk" in March.

The firm alleges this label was retaliatory after Amodei refused to grant the Pentagon unfettered access to its tools due to concerns over domestic surveillance and autonomous weaponry.

Despite the legal friction and a federal appeals court’s refusal to block the risk designation, Anthropic’s technology remains in use across various federal agencies.

The White House statement noted that the parties discussed shared protocols to address the challenges of this powerful technology.

When questioned by reporters in Phoenix, Arizona, regarding the visit, President Trump stated he had "no idea" the meeting had taken place, highlighting a complex internal dynamic regarding the government's reliance on Anthropic's critical infrastructure.