Funding for U.S. Advanced Weapons Suppliers Cut Off: Here's Why
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - OpenAI and Anthropic have recently been in the global spotlight. The two companies that develop the advanced AI tools are linked to the war that the United States and Israel have waged against Iran.
A Wall Street Journal report says the U.S. military used Anthropic’s Claude AI tool to launch an attack on Iran on 28 February 2026. Meanwhile, just a few hours earlier, Trump ordered a ban on the Claude AI tool in federal agencies.
For information, Anthropic is a partner of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). However, the relationship between the two institutions deteriorated because Anthropic asserted a firm stance against using its AI tools to create autonomous weapons or to spy on American citizens.
Trump was extremely angry about the requirement and immediately cancelled the contract with Anthropic. Trump said Anthropic is a left-wing ‘woke’ company that threatens national security and endangers the lives of American citizens.
Furthermore, Trump asserted that Anthropic cannot be allowed to determine how the U.S. military fights or wins wars.
Not long after, OpenAI announced it had signed a contract with the DoD to supply AI tools. This triggered controversy and damaged OpenAI’s reputation, marked by the removal of the ChatGPT app. Many people turned to Claude, Anthropic’s app.
Investors ‘Flee’
Freed from uproar with the government, OpenAI and Anthropic are known to receive funding, one part of which comes from Nvidia, the chip giant. However, in the midst of the current chaos, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang suddenly announced that the latest investment in OpenAI and Anthropic is likely to be the last.
The reason isn’t related to the war, but business calculations. OpenAI and Anthropic are both reportedly planning to float on the stock exchange (IPO) this year.
The opportunity for Nvidia to invest US$100 billion in OpenAI no longer seems open at the IPO, Huang said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecommunications conference, cited by Reuters, on Friday (6 March 2026).
It should be noted that in September 2025, Nvidia and OpenAI announced a deal for US$100 billion of funding.
Nvidia has just finalised a US$30 billion investment in OpenAI. However, this is indicated to become Nvidia’s last opportunity to invest in the company, according to Huang.
OpenAI is said to be preparing an IPO that could value the company at up to US$1 trillion, according to an exclusive Reuters report last year.
Moreover, Nvidia’s US$10 billion investment in Anthropic is also said by Huang to be the last. After all, the Trump-opposing startup is also suspected to be preparing an IPO this year.
However, Anthropic said it has not yet finalised any IPO plans.
OpenAI and Anthropic did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the matter.
Previously, the Financial Times reported in February that Nvidia and OpenAI had already cancelled the US$100 billion deal due to concerns about the health of the AI industry.
Various analysts voiced concerns about that circular arrangement, because a large investment in Anthropic would make Nvidia the major investor in one of its largest customers, and the money invested in the startup could be spent on its own AI processors.