In this illustration, the Claude AI app is seen in the app store on a phone on February 16, 2026 in New York City. According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, the Defense Department used Anthropic’s Claude Ai, via its Palantir contract, to help with the attack on Venezuela and capture former President Nicolás Maduro.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Anthropic’s Claude artificial intelligence assistant app jumped to the No. 1 slot on Apple’s chart of top U.S. free apps late on Saturday, a day after the Trump administration sought to block government agencies’ adoption of the startup’s technology.
The rise in popularity suggests that Anthropic is benefiting from its presence in news headlines, stemming from its refusal to have its models used for mass domestic surveillance or for fully autonomous weapons.
“The Leftwing nut jobs at Anthropic have made a DISASTROUS MISTAKE trying to STRONG-ARM the Department of War, and force them to obey their Terms of Service instead of our Constitution,” President Donald Trump wrote in a Friday Truth Social post.
Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he asked that Anthropic be labeled as a supply-chain risk to national security, and therefore, no U.S. defense contractor would be able to draw on Anthropic tools.
“It is the Department’s prerogative to select contractors most aligned with their vision,” Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in a statement. “But given the substantial value that Anthropic’s technology provides to our armed forces, we hope they reconsider.”
Historically, other AI chat apps have been more popular among consumers than Claude. OpenAI’s ChatGPT sat at No. 2 on the App Store rankings on Saturday, while Google’s Gemini was at No. 4.
The Claude iOS app has gained momentum this month. On Jan. 30, it was ranked No. 131 in the U.S., and it bounced around the top 20 for much of February, according to data from analytics company Sensor Tower. The data shows ChatGPT has held on to the No. 1 spot for most of February.
Anthropic’s count of free users have increased by over 60% since January, with daily sign-ups tripling since November, breaking an all-time record every day this week, a spokesperson said in an email. Its paying subscribers have more than doubled this year, the spokesperson said.
In the past year, Anthropic — which was formed in 2021 by former OpenAI employees — has gained momentum as a supplier of models for coding and general corporate use. OpenAI, whose ChatGPT now has over 900 million weekly users, has been responding to Anthropic’s surge in business by striking partnerships with consulting firms such as Accenture and Capgemini.
On Friday night, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the startup had reached an agreement with the U.S. Defense Department on the deployment of its models.
Hours later, pop singer Katy Perry posted a screenshot of Anthropic’s Pro subscription for consumers, with a heart superimposed over it.
Read More: Anthropic’s Claude hits No. 1 on Apple’s top free apps list
