The CEOs of Anthropic and OpenAI condemn ICE violence, praise Trump

In an NBC News segment Monday night, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei expressed concern about “some of the things we’ve seen in the last few days,” referring to violence by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis.

Amodei emphasized the importance of preserving democracy at home, both on NBC and in a Channel X post that specifically referred to “the horror we are seeing in Minnesota.” He said on NBC that he believes in arming democracies to defend against authoritarian states, and that “we need to defend our democratic values ​​at home.” He added that Anthropic has no contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Meanwhile, in an internal message from Slack to OpenAI employees that was leaked to The New York Times, Sam Altman said: “What is happening with ICE is greatly exaggerated.”

“Part of loving country is the American duty to stand up to abuses,” Altman wrote. “There is a big difference between deporting violent criminals and what is happening now, and we need to make the distinction properly.”

Tech workers, including employees of both companies, called on their bosses to contact the White House and ask Immigration and Customs Enforcement to leave US cities in the wake of Border Patrol agents killing US citizens in Minneapolis. In an open letter, tech insiders also urged their CEOs to cancel all of the company’s contracts with ICE and to speak out against ICE violence.

Employees who demand action from CEOs and want more are encouraged to join their ranks.

“We are pleased to hear the CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic condemn the murders committed by ICE,” ICEout.tech organizers, whose identities remain unknown, told TechCrunch. “Now we need to listen to the CEOs of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Meta, all of whom have remained silent despite calls across the industry.”

While Amodei and Altman may be taking a position — one publicly, the other internally — both executives framed their statements with praise for President Trump as well.

Amodei praised Trump’s idea to allow Minnesota authorities to conduct an independent investigation into the shootings by federal agents after multiple videos of Alex Peretti’s killing spread online. (It remains to be seen whether such an investigation will happen, but a growing number of Republicans have begun calling for one as well.)

In Altman’s letter to his staff, he also said he was encouraged by Trump’s recent responses and said he hoped the president, a “very strong leader,” would rise to “this moment and unite the country.”

Altman assured them that OpenAI “will try to figure out how to do the right thing as best we can, engage with leaders and push for our values, and be vocal about them as needed.” Altman has not yet publicly criticized the administration’s immigration agenda, or how Border Patrol agents are deployed in American cities.

JJ Colao, founder of the public relations firm Haymaker Group and one of the signatories of the ICEout.tech letter, criticized Altman for trying to “have it both ways” by calling Trump a strong leader, “as if the president bears no responsibility for ICE’s actions.” He added: “Online, I think his statement is helpful, but the performative tribute to the president greatly diminishes him.”

Of course, the Trump administration’s current policies in AI have helped fuel explosive growth in companies like OpenAI and Anthropic over the past year. OpenAI has raised at least $40 billion and is in talks to raise another $100 billion at an $830 billion valuation, and Anthropic has raised $19 billion and is in talks to raise another $25 billion at a $350 billion valuation.

However, such words of praise for Trump represent a face-lift for Altman. In the lead-up to Trump’s first term in 2016, Altman posted the following on his private blog:

“[Trump] It’s not just irresponsible. “He is as irresponsible as dictators… For anyone familiar with the history of Germany in the 1930s, it is appalling to watch Trump in action.”

At the time, he called Trump a “hate-mongering demagogue” who peddles the lie that he “will make America great by keeping us safe from outsiders” to distract from the fact that he actually “doesn’t have a serious plan for how to restore economic growth.” Altman admitted that he took some risks in writing his post, and ended with a quote attributed to Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

“This would be a good time for all of us — even Republicans, and especially Republican politicians who previously supported Trump — to start speaking up,” he wrote.

Amodei also seemed more vocal in his opposition to Trump allowing Nvidia to sell AI chips to China, calling the decision “crazy” last week during the World Economic Forum and likening it to “selling nuclear weapons to North Korea and the United States.” [bragging that] The envelopes were made by Boeing.

It remains to be seen whether these CEOs are doing everything some of their workforces want them to do. However, given what is at stake for their companies, even the internal and mild criticisms are notable.

TechCrunch has reached out to Anthropic and OpenAI for comment.

This story has been updated with comment from JJ Colao.

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