Anthropic Repairs Trump Ties Ahead of Potential IPO

Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary, stated that the Trump administration has renewed its trust in Anthropic. That remark ends a months-long conflict with the company behind the Claude AI model. The artificial intelligence firm could pursue an initial public offering in the near future.

On Tuesday, Lutnick gave an interview to Axios. The following day, he shared a stage with Tom Brown, a co-founder of Anthropic, at a G20 technology meeting held in North Carolina.

How the Anthropic Feud With Washington Ended

In the interview, when asked whether he trusts Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Lutnick responded without hesitation.

“They’ve done what we asked. They’re back on the right side. So the answer is: Yes.”

The conflict was genuine. In June, the Commerce Department required licenses for foreign users of Anthropic's most advanced models. Instead, the company withdrew Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 globally.

Regulators lifted the export restrictions on June 30. Access returned the next day. A few weeks earlier, Trump had called Anthropic a national security threat.

Legal proceedings also advanced. On August 28, U.S. District Judge Rita Lin invalidated the Pentagon's supply-chain risk designation, calling the measures illegal and baseless. A second Pentagon label remains active in the D.C. Circuit.

Breaking News: The Trump administration acted illegally when it labeled Anthropic a security risk and blacklisted it, a federal judge ruled.https://t.co/MLkK6xjodD

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 28, 2026

The Financial Impact of the Political Dispute

Court documents reveal what was at stake in the conflict. According to CFO Krishna Rao, the Pentagon designation could reduce 2026 revenue by several billion dollars.

Thiyagu Ramasamy, head of public sector, stated that over $150 million in recurring revenue was directly endangered. He forecast public sector revenue exceeding $500 million for 2026.

Bloomberg reported that Anthropic's revenue run rate hit $65 billion in August. Consequently, government business accounts for far less than 1% of the total.

Therefore, the harm was never primarily monetary. It was about narrative. A company cannot position itself as essential infrastructure if the government can cut it off.

“One question is in what ways besides supply chain risk the Trump admin could try to undermine Anthropic if this feud continues Some possibilities: Interfering with mergers, an IPO, other securities law stuff Denying federal permits for data centers,” one user said in February.

Anthropic submitted a confidential IPO filing in June. In August, BeInCrypto reported that the listing might happen as early as late September or early October. According to the Financial Times, investors anticipate a valuation of $2 trillion or more, but executives have not set a specific target.

ANTHROPIC COULD GO PUBLIC AS SOON AS NEXT MONTH

Anthropic plans to unveil its IPO prospectus after Labor Day, with a potential listing in late September or early October

Also considering letting existing shareholders sell stock in the IPO while using longer-than-usual lockups… pic.twitter.com/NPSFdgbcGh

— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) August 27, 2026

In June, SpaceX raised $85.7 billion, setting a benchmark. Anthropic aims to surpass that record.

Lutnick has removed the political uncertainty. Investors now need to determine if Claude is worth double the $965 billion valuation it had in May.