tech
March 1, 2026
Anthropic’s Claude rises to No. 1 in the App Store following Pentagon dispute
Anthropic’s chatbot Claude seems to have benefited from the attention around the company’s fraught negotiations with the Pentagon.
TL;DR
- Claude has become the number one free app in Apple's US App Store.
- The chatbot overtook OpenAI's ChatGPT to reach the top spot.
- Claude's ranking has rapidly climbed in February, from outside the top 100 to first place.
- Anthropic has experienced record daily signups and a significant increase in free users and paid subscribers.
- The company's growth follows negotiations with the Pentagon over safeguards for AI use.
- President Trump directed federal agencies to stop using Anthropic products, and the Secretary of Defense designated the company a supply-chain threat.
- OpenAI has announced its own agreement with the Pentagon, claiming it includes similar safeguards.
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