# The Department of Defense announced deals with seven leading artificial intelligence companies.

*aerospace · news · 2026-05-01 · DefenseNews.com*

## Key points

- The Pentagon signed deals with seven top AI firms to deploy AI on classified networks.
- Anthropic was excluded due to being labeled a supply-chain risk in March by the Department of Defense.
- Anthropic's exclusion centers on refusing Pentagon unrestricted access to Claude for autonomous weapons and surveillance.
- Recent White House meetings between Anthropic's CEO and officials suggest possible rapprochement.

**Companies:** SpaceX, Google, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, OpenAI, Reflection
**Countries:** United States

[Read the full story on DefenseNews.com](https://www.defensenews.com/news/pentagon-congress/2026/05/01/pentagon-freezes-out-anthropic-as-it-signs-deals-with-ai-rivals/)

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