Anthropic has announced new restrictions barring Chinese-run companies and organizations from using its artificial intelligence services, expanding its policy on what it calls “authoritarian regions.” The US-based AI startup, backed heavily by Amazon, is best known for its Claude chatbot and has positioned itself as a leader in safe and responsible AI development.
The company already blocks access to its commercial AI services in countries such as China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, citing security and legal concerns. Similar restrictions exist on rival platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is also unavailable in China, leading to the rise of local alternatives from firms including Alibaba and Baidu.
In a statement released Friday, Anthropic said it was tightening its rules after finding that some organizations continued using its services indirectly. “Some groups continue accessing our services in various ways, such as through subsidiaries incorporated in other countries,” the company explained.
The updated policy prohibits companies or organizations with ownership structures that place them under the control of restricted regions, including China, regardless of where they are based. Entities more than 50 percent owned, either directly or indirectly, by businesses in unsupported regions will now fall under the ban.
Industry Expert Says Anthropic Move Sets New Precedent
According to Nicholas Cook, an AI industry lawyer with 15 years of experience in China, this marks the first time a major US AI provider has publicly imposed such a rule. While the immediate commercial effect may be limited due to existing market barriers, Cook noted that the decision raises questions about whether other American AI firms will follow the same path.
An Anthropic executive told the Financial Times that the change could affect revenues in the “low hundreds of millions of dollars.”
The San Francisco-headquartered startup was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives and has grown rapidly. This week, it announced $13 billion in new funding, bringing its valuation to $183 billion. The company also revealed it now serves over 300,000 business customers, with the number of accounts generating more than $100,000 annually nearly seven times higher than last year.
Despite restrictions, some users in China continue to access generative AI tools such as Claude and ChatGPT through VPNs. However, competition has intensified with the launch of DeepSeek, a Chinese-developed chatbot that rivals leading American systems at a significantly lower cost.