Anthropic’s Claude rises to No. 1 in the App Store following Pentagon dispute

Source: TechCrunch

Image Credits: Maxwell Zeff

Claude climbs to No. 1 in the App Store

Anthropic’s chatbot Claude has surged to the top of the free‑app rankings in Apple’s US App Store amid heightened attention surrounding the company’s negotiations with the Pentagon.

• Ranking progression – According to data from SensorTower, Claude was just outside the top 100 at the end of January, spent most of February in the top 20, moved from sixth place on Wednesday to fourth on Thursday, and reached the number‑one spot on Saturday (still holding that position on Sunday morning).
• Growth metrics – A company spokesperson reported that daily sign‑ups have broken the all‑time record each day this week, free‑user numbers have risen more than 60 % since January, and paid subscribers have more than doubled this year.

Pentagon dispute and its impact

Anthropic’s attempt to negotiate safeguards that would prevent the Department of Defense from using its AI models for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons led to a political backlash:

• President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to stop using all Anthropic products.
• Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the company is being designated as a supply‑chain threat (TechCrunch article).

In response, OpenAI announced its own agreement with the Pentagon that includes similar safeguards, as detailed by CEO Sam Altman (TechCrunch article).

This post was first published on February 28, 2026. It has been updated to reflect Anthropic reaching No. 1 and to include the latest growth numbers.