Blacklisted by the Trump administration, Anthropic Teams Up with the Pope to Expand Political and Business Influence in Europe

According to DynaBeat monitoring, due to refusing to remove red lines on security issues such as lethal autonomous weapons, AI unicorn Anthropic has been subjected to a full ban by the Trump administration. Several months later, co-founder Christopher Olah appeared alongside the Pope to release the first AI encyclical, signaling Anthropic's official launch of a diplomatic offensive in Europe.

In February, the Trump administration ordered all federal agencies to cease using Anthropic technology, with the Department of Defense for the first time designating the domestic tech company as a security risk. Competitor OpenAI swiftly filled the gap within hours of the ban and secured a Pentagon defense contract. To escape domestic political pressures, Anthropic has expedited its shift to Europe. Over the past year, the company's revenue in Europe has surged nearly tenfold. To advance its politicized strategy, the company has even appointed former UK Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Liam Booth-Smith to lead its European expansion plan.

In Europe, Pope Leo XIV's explicit preference for the security school has provided excellent moral endorsement for Anthropic. In contrast, Peter Thiel, a pro-Trump figure, received a tepid response from the Vatican when promoting Silicon Valley accelerationism in Rome. CEO Dario Amodei has planned a trip to Rome to hold high-level talks with Italian policymakers, aiming to deploy data centers in Southern Europe, attract potential investments, and then proceed to London for a meeting with UK Prime Minister Stamer.