Anthropic CEO set to visit Australia next week amid expansion push: reports

The news: Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is set to visit Australia as soon as next week to demonstrate the AI labs’ commitment to expansion in the country, according to sources cited by the Australian Financial Review and Crikey.

The context: The AFR reported that Amodei will meet with Treasurer Jim Chalmers and possibly Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during the visit, with sources telling the masthead that Anthropic is exploring opportunities to build compute power in Australia given the country’s political stability and ties to the US.

Amodei is scheduled to formally open Anthropic’s Sydney office launched earlier this month during the trip.

The US company is currently embroiled in a feud with the Pentagon, after the Defense Department labelled Anthropic a supply chain risk and President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using its technology. The two sides came to blows over a USD200 million contract after Anthropic refused to allow its AI to be used for autonomous lethal weapons or mass domestic surveillance.