Key Facts
Anthropic, the AI lab behind Claude, has had a remarkable month despite renewed conflict with the Trump administration. In May, the company surpassed OpenAI in business spending market share for the first time, according to data from fintech firm Ramp. It also raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation and filed confidential IPO paperwork after reporting its first profitable quarter.
However, on Friday, the White House sent a letter demanding Anthropic ban non-Americans—including its own employees—from accessing its state-of-the-art models: the limited-release Mythos 5 and its public version, Fable 5. This forced Anthropic to pull both models from the market.
Details of the Ban
The Trump administration invoked an obscure export control directive, though the exact reason remains unclear. Speculation suggests that hackers easily bypassed Fable 5's guardrails, which were designed to prevent access to Mythos' capabilities. Mythos is so adept at finding security flaws in software code that Anthropic itself marketed it as dangerous and restricted its release.
This latest action follows Anthropic's refusal to allow government use of its models for mass surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. In March, the administration declared the company a supply-chain risk.
Impact on Sales
Despite the ban, Anthropic's business sales have thrived. Ramp's data from over 70,000 businesses shows that Anthropic's share of AI subscriptions rose 2.5 percentage points in May to 41%, while OpenAI's share remained flat at 39.5%. (OpenAI still leads in consumer usage, per Sensor Tower.)
Ramp's lead economist, Ara Kharazian, noted that controversy may actually help Anthropic. “If anything, it’ll probably boost them,” he told TechCrunch. “Anthropic’s best month on record, as far as business adoption, was the month that the Department of Defense labeled them a supply-chain risk. There’s a lot of aura that comes with your model specifically being named too dangerous to use.”
Business spending is primarily on API calls for coding, with Claude Opus models being most popular. Anthropic released a new version, Opus 4.8, in late May.
What Readers Should Know
- Anthropic's available models (Opus) remain highly popular with businesses.
- The ban on Mythos and Fable 5 may not significantly hurt revenue, as these models were only briefly available.
- The IPO timeline could be affected by government controversy, but strong business metrics may reassure investors.
FAQ
Why did the Trump administration ban Anthropic's models?
The White House invoked an export control directive, possibly due to Fable 5's guardrails being easily bypassed, allowing access to Mythos 5's powerful capabilities.
How did Anthropic's sales perform despite the ban?
According to Ramp, Anthropic's share of business AI subscriptions rose to 41% in May, surpassing OpenAI. Controversy actually boosted adoption.
What are Mythos and Fable 5?
Mythos 5 is a limited-release model so powerful at finding security flaws that Anthropic restricted its release. Fable 5 is a guarded public version that was pulled after a few days.
Will the ban affect Anthropic's IPO plans?
It's uncertain. While public investors may be wary of government controversy, Anthropic's business metrics remain strong.