In March 2026, the U.S. Pentagon branded Anthropic, a rising star in the AI sector, as a “supply chain risk,” sparking a rift among Silicon Valley’s tech titans. Anthropic swiftly filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon and relevant federal agencies, arguing that the designation had no legal foundation and urging the court to overturn it. Microsoft threw its weight behind Anthropic, submitting court filings to halt the enforcement of the Pentagon’s ban. It contended that the decision was shrouded in secrecy, lacked legal justification, and would saddle suppliers with exorbitant restructuring costs and potential business upheaval. Meanwhile, Google pounced on the chance to deepen its collaboration with Anthropic. The two companies had already inked a multi-billion-dollar deal for computing power, with Google providing Anthropic with up to 1 million of its self-designed TPU specialized AI chips.