Anthropic suspended access to its newest AI models for foreign nationals following a U.S. government directive, shocking India's tech industry. The move reignited debate in India over the need to strengthen domestic AI capabilities and invest in open-source alternatives.
Anthropic suspended access to its latest AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, for all foreign nationals, including its own foreign employees, following a U.S. government directive. The decision came shortly after Anthropic announced a partnership with Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services, highlighting India's deep reliance on U.S.-developed AI technologies.
India is the second-largest market for both Anthropic and OpenAI, and both companies have expanded local hiring, partnerships, and enterprise initiatives there. Reports suggest Amazon CEO Andy Jassy initially flagged security concerns to the government, and the White House privately blamed Anthropic's handling of alleged jailbreak vulnerabilities. Anthropic disputes the government's characterization.
The episode has reignited debate in India about technological dependence and the need for sovereign AI capabilities. Aakrit Vaish, founder of Indian AI venture platform Activate, said the decision "materially changes the way all of us should be thinking about sovereign AI in India." Indian startups are expected to increasingly turn to open-source models and reduce reliance on a few frontier AI providers.