{"id":42770,"date":"2026-04-06T10:45:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:45:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=42770"},"modified":"2026-04-06T10:45:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T10:45:40","slug":"anthropic-backers-fret-over-ai-giants-volatile-ceo-dario-amodei-as-billions-hang-in-the-balance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=42770","title":{"rendered":"Anthropic backers fret over AI giant&#8217;s volatile CEO Dario Amodei as billions hang in the balance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei\u2019s volatile personality and penchant for public rants has sparked growing concerns among the AI giant\u2019s shareholders \u2013 some of whom fear he\u2019s ill-equipped to steer the $380 billion company through its current troubles, The Post has learned. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Amodei, whose firm built the \u201cClaude\u201d chatbot, turned heads last month when he <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/06\/business\/anthropic-ceo-apologizes-for-lashing-out-at-trump-as-he-gears-up-for-court-battle-with-pentagon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blasted President Trump and OpenAI\u2019s Sam Altman in an explosive internal memo<\/a>. It was sent hours after the Pentagon\u2019s decision to blacklist Anthropic for refusing to remove safeguards on how its AI can be used in military settings.<\/p>\n<p>In the memo \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theinformation.com\/articles\/read-anthropic-ceos-memo-attacking-openais-mendacious-pentagon-announcement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">which was promptly leaked to media<\/a> \u2014 Amodei claimed the Pentagon targeted Anthropic for not giving\u00a0\u201cdictator-style praise to Trump (while Sam has).\u201d He likewise accused Altman of telling \u201cstraight up lies\u201d by claiming to share Anthropic\u2019s safety concerns, and called OpenAI employees a \u201cgullible bunch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One current Anthropic shareholder, who spoke to The Post on condition of anonymity, said Amodei\u2019s fiery diatribe was part of an \u201cextremely concerning\u201d pattern that\u2019s unbefitting of a high-profile CEO whose firm counts Amazon and Google among its blue-chip investors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou are a f\u2014king CEO who has raised billions of dollars. You can\u2019t just rant and expect all shareholders to have the same mentality that you have,\u201d the shareholder said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Dario Amodei cofounded Anthropic after exiting OpenAI. <span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe one thing that was striking to me is the aggressiveness of his opinions on Trump and the Pentagon \u2013 given that they were the only ones whose tech was being used in things at the Pentagon,\u201d the shareholder added.<\/p>\n<p>The brilliant-but-eccentric CEO has often courted controversy in his public appearances \u2013 once warning that <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/05\/28\/business\/ai-could-cause-bloodbath-for-white-collar-jobs-spike-unemployment-to-20-anthropic-ceo\/\">AI could drive unemployment<\/a> to 20% and likening the White House\u2019s decision to allow sale of advanced AI chips to China to <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/20\/business\/selling-ai-chips-to-china-is-like-selling-nuclear-weapons-to-north-korea-anthropic-ceo\/\">\u201cselling nuclear weapons to North Korea.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Amodei has a habit of speaking out despite internal efforts \u2013 usually by his sister and fellow cofounder Daniela and policy chief Jack Clark \u2013 to restrain his impulses, the shareholder added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey try to reel him in but he clearly cannot control his emotions,\u201d the shareholder said.<\/p>\n<p>A source close to Anthropic pushed back on the criticism of Amodei, noting that the company remains one of the fastest-growing in history and has received public support from several investors, including Altimeter, Menlo Ventures and Spark Capital, following its dispute with the Pentagon.<\/p>\n<p>Amodei\u2019s particular disdain for Altman has simmered since before he and a handful of close allies\u00a0left OpenAI to found Anthropic in 2021. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Sam Altman and Dario Amodei refused to link hands during a viral photo op. <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Dario Amodei has accused Altman and OpenAI of performing \u201csafety theater.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The feud was evident during a painfully awkward incident at a February tech conference in India. The two rivals were placed next to each other on stage alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, but refused to link hands for a group photo as the crowd cheered.<\/p>\n<p>Dario and Daniela Amodei exited OpenAI after having disagreements with Altman, who they felt was recklessly prioritizing business growth over AI safety guardrails. Those concerns went into overdrive after Altman decided to release ChatGPT to the public in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Last week,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/tech\/ai\/the-decadelong-feud-shaping-the-future-of-ai-7075acde?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqcS9m4Bi1llsTJDS3ovG33AuvysTSoXAUdLVFVioyHfkUi_uouHw5kJjqlvt4Q%3D&amp;gaa_ts=69ca9e6a&amp;gaa_sig=zYVB8R_4eSU5afB5sdMqkRuH9ZvK6jkZZehU2A2t7fv1E3fnNmFve2gB6tYiqrkC5zwkDH4VfC9ItlX68dW1fg%3D%3D\">the Wall Street Journal reported<\/a>\u00a0that the Amodei siblings had workplace tensions with Altman and fellow OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman. One blowup occurred in late 2020, when Altman accused the siblings of urging colleagues to badmouth him to OpenAI\u2019s board.<\/p>\n<p>Behind the scenes, some insiders, who spoke to The Post on condition of anonymity, say Amodei remains highly critical of OpenAI and obsessed with beating Altman \u2013 to the point that some researchers fear it\u2019s hurting the company\u2019s actual mission.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Sam Altman\u2019s OpenAI has since struck a deal with the Pentagon. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Anthropic boss is also openly disdainful of OpenAI employees, saying they are \u201cunder Sam\u2019s spell\u201d and untrustworthy as a result, the shareholder said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is very clear it is a personal vendetta, but their justification is their core conviction that Sam can\u2019t be trusted with prioritizing trust and safety,\u201d the shareholder added.<\/p>\n<p>One well-connected industry source described Amodei\u2019s feelings toward his former boss-turned-rival as \u201cSama Derangement Syndrome\u201d \u2013 a reference to Altman\u2019s account handle on X, @Sama.<\/p>\n<p>Anthropic declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the upheaval, Amodei maintains a loyal following inside Anthropic. The 43-year-old is known to host regular meetings that are referred to internally as \u201cDario Vision Quests,\u201d or DVQs, where he holds forth on everything from AI policy and company business to geopolitics and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>Amodei has since apologized for the Pentagon-bashing memo, stating that \u201cAnthropic did not leak this post nor direct anyone else to do so\u201d and that it was \u201cnot in our interest to escalate this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The Pentagon, led by War Sec. Pete Hegseth, recently blacklisted Anthropic. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cAny normal CEO would know that like, f\u2014k, I\u2019m risking a lot by saying this all in writing,\u201d the shareholder said. \u201cBut he\u2019s blinded by his own love of self and intelligence and those around him who are like \u2018yes, you are God.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anthropic is currently suing the Pentagon over the \u201csupply chain risk\u201d designation and described the US government\u2019s actions as \u201cunprecedented and unlawful.\u201d A top Pentagon official argued the tag was necessary because the Claude AI chatbot was trained\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/03\/12\/business\/anthropic-would-pollute-us-military-supply-chain-pentagon-official-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">using a fundamentally different ideology from what the Pentagon wants for its systems.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the government ban on March 26.<\/p>\n<p>The source close to Anthropic said the lawsuit was necessary to protect the firm\u2019s business interests, but it is still focused on working alongside with the government.<\/p>\n<p>On the surface, Anthropic\u2019s pursuit of the Pentagon contract in the first place seems to contradict its AI safety obsession.<\/p>\n<p>However, sources familiar with the firm\u2019s thinking say it was part of Amodei\u2019s attempt at ensure his firm was at the forefront of the debate on how and when advanced AI is deployed on the battlefield.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Anthropic\u2019s Dario Amodei bashed President Trump and Sam Altman in a viral memo. <span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Critics, including former White House AI czar David Sacks, have long alleged that Anthropic\u2019s safety branding is actually an elaborate attempt at \u201cregulatory capture\u201d \u2013 Silicon Valley lingo for crafting the rules in such a way that they benefit and their rivals struggle.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/anthropic-investors-push-de-escalate-pentagon-clash-over-ai-safeguards-sources-2026-03-04\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reuters previously reported<\/a>\u00a0that investors had expressed support for Amodei during the Pentagon spat, even as some privately expressed frustrations that he had antagonized the Trump administration with his rhetoric as the situation spiraled.<\/p>\n<p>On the eve of a Pentagon deadline to strike a deal, Amodei publicly announced that Anthropic could not \u201cin good conscience accede to their request.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an ego and diplomacy problem,\u201d one source told the outlet.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/06\/business\/anthropic-backers-fret-over-ai-giants-volatile-ceo-dario-amodei-as-billions-hang-in-the-balance\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei\u2019s volatile personality and penchant for public rants has sparked growing concerns among the AI giant\u2019s shareholders \u2013 some of whom fear he\u2019s&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}