Anthropic CEO admits ‘incredible commercial pressure’ amid AI safety push

The artificial intelligence industry’s long-running debate over profit versus principles is intensifying — and even safety-focused firms are feeling the strain.

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has acknowledged that his company faces “an incredible amount of commercial pressure” as it tries to balance rapid revenue growth with its commitment to AI safety.

Speaking on the Dwarkesh podcast, Amodei said Anthropic makes its own path more challenging by prioritising safeguards. 

“We’re under an incredible amount of commercial pressure, and we make it even harder for ourselves because we have all this safety stuff we do that I think we do more than other companies,” he said.

Anthropic was founded in 2021 by Amodei, his sister Daniela Amodei, and several former OpenAI employees who were concerned about what they saw as mission drift at their previous company. 

Their goal was to build powerful AI systems while keeping safety at the forefront.

The company recently announced a $30 billion Series G funding round at a $380 billion post-money valuation, underscoring its rapid rise. 

Anthropic also revealed that its annualised revenue has reached $14 billion, growing more than tenfold each year for the past three years.

But growth brings heightened expectations. “The pressure to survive economically while also keeping our values is just incredible,” Amodei said.

The tension was highlighted last week when former Anthropic safety researcher Mrinank Sharma resigned, citing difficulties in letting values consistently guide decisions.ario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has acknowledged that his company faces “an incredible amount of commercial pressure”