Nvidia CEO claims Pentagon-Anthropic rift isn't 'world-ending'

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang remarked on Wednesday that the conflict between the US Defense Department and Anthropic is "not catastrophic."

These statements followed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's ultimatum to Anthropic until Friday to relax its guidelines on the Pentagon's AI tool usage or face the potential loss of its federal contract.

If Anthropic does not comply, Hegseth warned that the company might be considered a "supply chain risk" or face action from the Defense Production Act, sources informed CNBC's Ashley Capoot and Kate Rooney earlier this week.

During a conversation with CNBC's Becky Quick on Wednesday, Huang mentioned that the Defense Department can use technology and products they purchase to boost their interests.

Similarly, Anthropic is entitled to determine how they wish to promote their solutions and for what purposes. "I think both sides have valid points," he mentioned.

The stalled discussions between Anthropic and the Department of Defense have been due to Anthropic seeking assurance that its models will not be applied to autonomous weaponry or mass monitoring of US citizens. 

The Department of Defense, on the other hand, insists that the company must allow "all legal use cases" without restrictions.

"I hope they find a resolution, but if they don't, it's not the end of everything," Huang noted, highlighting that Anthropic isn't the sole AI company globally, and the Department of Defense isn't the only potential client.

Anthropic was formed in 2021 by ex-OpenAI researchers and executives and is renowned for developing the AI model series named Claude. 

Last year, the organisation secured a $200 million contract with the DoD.

In November, Anthropic and Nvidia entered into a strategic agreement. The creators of Claude adopted Nvidia's tech architecture and secured a $5 billion commitment from the chip company.