Anthropic has revoked OpenAI’s access to its Claude family of AI models, according to a recent report. Sources familiar with the matter indicated that OpenAI was connecting Claude to internal tools to compare its performance against its own models in key areas like coding, writing, and safety.
In a statement, an Anthropic spokesperson said that OpenAI’s own technical staff were using their coding tools ahead of the launch of GPT-5, a move that is considered a “direct violation of our terms of service.” Anthropic’s commercial terms specifically prohibit companies from using Claude to build competing services. Despite the revocation, the company stated it would continue to provide OpenAI access “for the purposes of benchmarking and safety evaluations.”
Industry Standard vs. Terms of Service
An OpenAI spokesperson responded by calling its usage “industry standard” for evaluating AI systems. They added that while they respect Anthropic’s decision, it is “disappointing considering our API remains available to them.”
This isn’t the first time Anthropic has shown resistance to providing access to competitors. Chief Science Officer Jared Kaplan previously justified the company’s decision to cut off access to another AI startup by stating, “I think it would be odd for us to be selling Claude to OpenAI.” This indicates a broader trend of AI companies becoming more protective of their intellectual property.
Author’s Opinion
The dispute between Anthropic and OpenAI over API access is a clear sign that the AI industry is moving beyond its early, more collaborative phase into a period of intense and fiercely competitive rivalry. While “benchmarking” is a common industry practice, the use of a competitor’s proprietary tools for internal development, especially for a key product launch, pushes the boundaries of acceptable behavior. This incident highlights a growing tension between the open-source ethos that helped build the AI community and the commercial interests of companies vying for market dominance. It’s a preview of a future where companies will increasingly gatekeep their models to protect their competitive edge, which could ultimately slow down the pace of innovation for the wider community.
Featured image credit: SlashGear
For more stories like it, click the +Follow button at the top of this page to follow us.