Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is scheduled to walk into the West Wing on Friday for a meeting with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles — a breakthrough in his effort to resolve the company’s bitter AI fight with the Pentagon. Why it matters: The Trump administration recognizes the power of Anthropic’s new Claude model, Mythos , and its highly sophisticated — and potentially dangerous — ability to breach cybersecurity defenses . “It would be grossly irresponsible for the U.S. government to deprive itself of the technological leaps that the new model presents,” a source close to negotiations told us. “It would be a gift to China.” Reminder: Anthropic is suing the Pentagon for blacklisting the company after Amodei refused to allow his AI to be used without restrictions. Some parts of the U.S. intelligence community , plus the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA, part of Homeland Security), are testing Mythos. Treasury and others want it. Behind the scenes: After Anthropic took the administration to court, negotiations with the Pentagon chilled. But Anthropic has hired key Trumpworld consultants — so expect a deal. Friday’s meeting is designed to pave the way. Flashback: This is the second time Amodei has held a high-stakes meeting with a top Trump official this year. In late February, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Amodei until the end of the week to accept the Pentagon’s terms, or else. Anthropic didn’t. Since then, the Pentagon and Anthropic have been locked in a legal and political feud. Some in the administration think the fight is growing counterproductive. 💡 If you’re a CEO or on a CEO’s team: Apply here for free admission to Jim’s new Axios C-Suite weekly newsletter. Go deeper : Trump officials negotiating access to Anthropic’s Mythos despite blacklist.
