Anthropic’s $200 million contract with the Department of Defense (DOD) broke down last week after the two parties failed to come to an agreement over the degree to which the military could obtain unrestricted access to Anthropic’s AI. When the DOD made a deal with OpenAI instead, it seemed that the military’s relationship with Anthropic would come to a close — but new reporting from the Financial Times and Bloomberg say that Amodei resumed negotiations with Pentagon official Emil Michael. These talks are reportedly part of an attempt to compromise on a contract that outlines how the Pentagon can continue to access Anthropic’s AI models. It would be a surprise to see Anthropic eek out a new deal, given how much vitriol has been exchanged among the parties involved. But a compromise could still hold appeal for both sides — the Pentagon already relies on Anthropic’s technology, and an abrupt switch to OpenAI’s systems would be disruptive.…