Anthropic ramps up D.C. presence
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Anthropic is expanding its footprint in the nation's capital ahead of the midterms, according to company plans shared with Axios.
Why it matters: AI companies are spending heavily and expanding to Washington to influence the policies that will define the technology's future.
Driving the news: Anthropic is tripling its policy team and opening a permanent office in D.C. this spring to engage policymakers and think tanks long term.
- Expect Anthropic to continue advocating for export controls on advanced chips, a "clear" federal AI regulation framework, energy ratepayer protections and model transparency, a spokesperson said.
"AI is advancing faster than any technology in history, and the window to get policy right is closing," said Sarah Heck, Anthropic's new head of public policy.
- "We're growing a bipartisan team in Washington because we believe smart policy can accelerate American innovation and economic growth — not slow it down."
- Heck is stepping into the role that co-founder Jack Clark previously held and will report to president and co-founder Daniela Amodei.
In his new role as head of public benefit, Clark will lead the Anthropic Institute, a new research venture where he will oversee three teams:
- The Frontier Red Team will stress-test AI systems to understand their limits and capabilities.
- The Societal Impacts team will study how AI is being used in the real world.
- The Economic Research team will track how AI is impacting jobs and the larger economy.
The intrigue: The Anthropic Institute has hired Zoë Hitzig, formerly of OpenAI, and Anton Korinek, a University of Virginia professor on leave.
- Matt Botvinick, formerly of Google DeepMind, will lead work on AI and the rule of law. Another research team to better understand how AI will interact with the legal system is in the works.
- The federal affairs team includes registered lobbyists from both parties.
The big picture: Under intense scrutiny from the Trump administration, Anthropic is building a permanent Washington operation and signaling that the debate over the industry's future is just beginning.
