Anthropic’s Claude rises to No. 2 in the App Store following Pentagon dispute

Anthropic's AI chatbot, Claude, has seen a remarkable surge in popularity, reportedly influenced by the ongoing tensions between the company and the Pentagon. As of Saturday afternoon, Claude has ascended to the second position among free apps in Apple's US App Store, just behind OpenAI's ChatGPT, while Google Gemini holds the third spot. Data from SensorTower reveals that Claude was lingering outside the top 100 earlier this year, but its fortunes have shifted dramatically. Throughout February, it found itself fluctuating within the top 20, and its recent climb has been notable: moving from sixth place on Wednesday to fourth on Thursday and finally reaching second place by Saturday. This rise comes in the wake of Anthropic's attempts to negotiate terms that would prevent the Department of Defense from deploying its AI technology for mass surveillance or in fully autonomous weaponry. Following these discussions, President Donald Trump instructed federal agencies to halt the use of all Anthropic products, while Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth labeled the company as a supply-chain threat. In contrast, OpenAI has secured its own agreement with the Pentagon, which CEO Sam Altman asserts includes provisions concerning domestic surveillance and autonomous weapon systems.