Anthropic’s Claude hits No. 2 on Apple’s top free apps list

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. 2 slot on Apple’s chart of top U.S. free apps late on Friday, hours 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. 1 on the App Store rankings on Saturday, while Google’s Gemini was at No. 3.

The Claude iOS app has gained momentum this month. On Jan. 30, it was ranked No. 131 in the U.S., and it bounced between the top 20 and the top 50 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.

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.

WATCH: Sec. Pete Hegseth directs Pentagon to designate Anthropic supply-chain risk

Sec. Pete Hegseth directs Pentagon to designate Anthropic supply-chain risk to national security

Source link

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

Stock Split Watch: Is Moderna Next?

Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) stock, after a few years in the doldrums, has accomplished a major turnaround. The biotech company saw its stock soar in early pandemic days thanks to the development and commercialization of its coronavirus vaccine. It went on to become a blockbuster product. But when demand for the vaccine slipped later in the health

2 November 2026

WCM-Q hosts ninth edition of Lifestyle Medicine Week

Dr.Javaid Sheikh (center) during the inauguration of Kick-Off a Healthier Lifestyle.   The Global Institute for Population Health (GIPH) at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) hosted the ninth edition of Lifestyle Medicine Week, an initiative designed to raise awareness of the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle.     The annual week-long initiative featured a diverse array of activities, including competitions and interactive sessions focused on promoting healthy lifestyle habits to help prevent, treat, and manage chronic diseases such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and hypertension, while improving overall health and well-being.     Titled “Kick-Off a Healthier Lifestyle,” a one-day, in-person event was officially inaugurated by Dr Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCM-Q, at the college. Dean Sheikh emphasised the growing importance of lifestyle medicine in healthcare worldwide, and thanked GIPH for organising the event. The event included several fun, interactive activities promoting key aspects of lifestyle medicine, including physical activity, a healthy diet, stress management, restorative sleep, social connectedness and avoidance of risky substances. Attendees also had the chance to win gifts through raffle drawings throughout the day.     Another activity, dubbed the “Get Connected Trivia Quiz,” brought teams together for a competition highlighting the importance of social connectedness, emotional resilience and overall health.     Two online competitions also formed part of the activities. The “Cornell Cook-Off” was a healthy cooking competition in which participants showcased their culinary talents through video submissions. The second activity, titled “Say ‘Yes’ to Life. Say ‘No’ to Smoking and Addictive Substances,” aimed to raise awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco and other addictive substances. Participants were invited to submit creative entries, such as photos, infographics, memes and posters for a chance to win prizes.     Dr Ravinder Mamtani, WCM-Q professor of population health sciences and vice-dean for population health and lifestyle medicine, said: “For the ninth consecutive year, Lifestyle Medicine Week has provided a valuable platform for raising awareness of how lifestyle choices can directly influence health and well-being. The growing body of scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of lifestyle medicine in preventing, managing and, in some cases, reversing chronic conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer and mental health disorders is extremely compelling.”   Related Story Source link

2 November 2026

Barclays Says a SpaceX Merger Is Now “a Key Part” of the Tesla Bull Case. Here’s Who Actually Wins if It Happens — and Who Pays.

In Space Exploration Technologies‘ (SPCX -6.37%) recent third-quarter conference call, CEO Elon Musk was asked about the possibility of the company being merged with Tesla (TSLA -0.86%) — his other trillion-dollar company. Musk responded by saying he thought merging the two companies was a good idea and confirmed that each company had formed a special

2 November 2026
DR Congo Ebola toll tops 5,000 as cases spread

DR Congo Ebola toll tops 5,000 as cases spread

BUNIA   An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than 5,000 people, government data released on Oct. 30 showed, as health officials urged stronger surveillance to contain its spread. More than 10,000 people have been infected since the outbreak was declared in May. It is the country’s largest Ebola outbreak

2 November 2026
Canada police officers in Ontario, Canada (Photography for representative purpose only) (REUTERS)

Over 4,500 Indians removed from Canada this year: CBSA

Toronto: Over 4,500 Indian nationals have been removed from Canada already this year, marking a historic high. Canada police officers in Ontario, Canada (Photography for representative purpose only) (REUTERS) According to data published by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), 4,526 Indians were removed from the country will September 30 this year, a record. They

2 November 2026

Harry Potter set-jetting by train: Five magical rail journeys in the UK

It’s almost impossible to believe, but 25 years ago in November, the first Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, was released. Alongside all the magic and mayhem, there was another icon on the screen: The Hogwarts Express train, portrayed in the film by the GWR 4900 Class No. 5972 Olton Hall steam

2 November 2026
Supporters of the Houthi authorities brandish their weapons during a protest against Saudi intervention in Yemen, in Sanaa, on October 9, 2026. The Houthis, who are fighting the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government, seized the coastline alongside crucial trade route during a lightning offensive last month, extending their control over all of Yemen's Red Sea coast. Yemeni government forces have been attempting for several days to retake coastal territory captured by the pro-Iranian fighters. (AFP FILE)

How the Houthis built their war machine

ALI AL-WAZIR is no ordinary businessman. The 47-year-old Yemeni, who is known as “Prince”, plies his trade in Guangzhou in southern China. The bustling port is about 7,000km (4,500 miles) from Yemen. But distance has not prevented Mr Wazir from playing a part in his country’s long civil war. In 2024 he was accused of

2 November 2026

Asian Shares Mostly Advance but Tech Stocks Remain Volatile, While Oil Sinks 3.3%

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Monday but technology stocks remained volatile, while oil prices fell more than 3%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gave up early gains, slipping 0.1% to 63,218.02 as some major technology names fell. Shares of OpenAI investor SoftBank Group dropped 1.8%. Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings fell roughly 14%

2 November 2026
Former Poland's Prime Minister and leader of the Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc) right-wing opposition party Jaroslaw Kaczynski speaks as anti-government protesters attend a demonstration in front of the Constitutional Court, Poland's highest court, in Warsaw on October 14, 2026. Right-wing protestors clashed with police in front of Poland's highest court on October 14, attempting to block its judges from entering the building and defending its overhaul by the previous government. (AFP)

Poland’s fight over its constitutional court gets physical

POLAND’S Constitutional Tribunal is supposed to embody democratic stability, but has spent the past decade as a battleground for fights between populists and liberals. The latest conflict looks like a full-blown constitutional crisis. On the evening of October 30th a group of judges picked by parliament this year, but whom the country’s president has refused

2 November 2026
Sarah Friar, OpenAI’s finance chief, says she thinks cyber-security will become a “huge business” for her firm over the next two years. (REUTERS)

Hackers are running riot with AI. Its makers want to cash in

There has never been a better time to be a North Korean hacker. Last year the country’s cyber-thieves stole $2bn-worth of cryptocurrency, triple the level two years before, according to Chainalysis, a research firm. This year’s haul is set to be much bigger. On October 29th $6.3bn was swiped from Binance, the world’s largest crypto

2 November 2026

Is ASML Holding (NasdaqGS:ASML) Still Undervalued After Its Recent Pullback?

ASML Holding (NasdaqGS:ASML) drew fresh attention after CEO Christophe Fouquet tied executive pay to a new Workplace Experience Index that tracks employee morale, following a year of restructuring and planned cuts of about 1,700 management roles. Recent trading has been choppy for ASML Holding, with the share price falling 6.6% in the last session and

2 November 2026
Binance posted a net outflow of $3.6 billion in cryptoassets after restoring customer withdrawals on Sunday. (Representative Image/Reuters)

As Binance crisis unfolded, 7-month-pregnant co-CEO took 3 am calls, led 100-person war room to tackle heist

Seven months pregnant, Binance co-CEO He Yi worked through the night to oversee the cryptocurrency exchange’s response after hackers stole over $6 billion in virtual assets, as the company scrambled to restore services, The New York Times reported. Binance posted a net outflow of $3.6 billion in cryptoassets after restoring customer withdrawals on Sunday. (Representative

2 November 2026
Ukraine's Ministry for Digital Transformation later said in a post on X that the nationwide alert system was functioning normally. (Representative image/ Unsplash)

Fake nuclear, chemical threat alerts flash as Russia, Ukraine report cyberattacks on emergency apps

Russia and Ukraine have both reported cyberattacks targeting their emergency alert apps, with hackers sending fake warnings of nuclear, chemical and radiation threats to mobile phone users. Ukraine’s Ministry for Digital Transformation later said in a post on X that the nationwide alert system was functioning normally. (Representative image/ Unsplash) While Ukraine’s air raid alert

2 November 2026

Investor Sentiment Sends an Overt Warning About the Stock Market

The Market You know that old joke: you want the good news first or the bad news first? Here’s the good news: I think the action the last two days of the week last week in tech stocks (Nasdaq) changed quite a few minds. Here’s the bad news: I don’t have any actual data to

2 November 2026
Rather than talking about petrol prices or deep-sea trawling in the closing days of the campaign, she is being forced to defend the ethics of her staff. (REUTERS)

An unfolding disaster in Alaska could cost Democrats the Senate

DEMOCRATS NEED a net gain of four Senate seats to take control of the upper chamber of Congress. Now, with election day looming on November 3rd, a state crucial to that effort is descending into chaos. Republicans have asserted for months that Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher living in a small fishing village, launched

2 November 2026
Today, China has three aircraft carriers, with a fourth on its way that Western experts believe will be nuclear-powered.

The U.S. Once Dominated the World’s Oceans. China’s Xi is Changing That.

SINGAPORE—In 1998, a shadowy entertainment company based in the gambling hub of Macau made an unusual purchase: an aircraft carrier. Called the Varyag, it was originally ordered for the Soviet Union, but was left to rust unfinished in a Ukrainian shipyard. Its Chinese buyers said they wanted to turn their $20 million acquisition into a

2 November 2026

Stock futures jump ahead of a monster week after a $5 trillion AI rout

Stock futures opened higher Sunday evening as Wall Street prepares for a week packed with Apple earnings, the midterm elections and $100 oil. S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) and Dow futures (YM=F) were all higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way after last week’s AI selloff. The selloff that closed out

2 November 2026
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x