Anthropic's Claude hits No. 2 on Apple's top free apps list after Pentagon rejection

The AI assistant app Claude, developed by Anthropic, skyrocketed to the second position on Apple's list of top free apps in the U.S. late Friday. This surge in popularity occurred just hours after the Trump administration attempted to hinder the adoption of Anthropic's technology by government agencies. This unexpected rise appears to be linked to the ongoing media attention surrounding Anthropic's stance against the use of its models for mass surveillance and fully autonomous weaponry. In a critical post on Truth Social, former President Donald Trump accused the company of overstepping by trying to influence the Department of Defense, asserting that they should respect constitutional guidelines rather than the company’s terms of service. Adding fuel to the fire, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed his concern, suggesting that Anthropic should be classified as a supply-chain risk to national security, which would effectively bar U.S. defense contractors from utilizing their tools. In response, Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, emphasized the significant advantages their technology could bring to the military and urged reconsideration by the Department of Defense. Historically, AI chat applications have seen varying levels of consumer popularity, with Anthropic's Claude previously trailing behind competitors. OpenAI's ChatGPT held the top spot in the App Store rankings on Saturday, while Google's Gemini occupied the third position. Notably, Claude's iOS app has experienced remarkable growth this month, jumping from a ranking of 131 on January 30 to fluctuating between the top 20 and top 50 throughout February, as reported by analytics firm Sensor Tower. OpenAI, which has over 900 million weekly users of ChatGPT, has noticed the impact of Anthropic's expanding business and has responded by forming partnerships with consulting giants like Accenture and Capgemini. In a significant development, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced a collaboration agreement with the U.S. Defense Department on Friday, just hours after pop star Katy Perry shared a screenshot of Anthropic's Pro subscription service, adding a heart emoji to highlight her support.