Will GIC and Temasek’s investments in blacklisted AI firm Anthropic backfire?

IT IS tempting for armchair critics to scoff at the latest artificial intelligence (AI) bets made by Singapore’s GIC and Temasek. But investors questioning if this move is a misstep are fundamentally misreading the room.

GIC and Temasek recently sank billions into a funding round that valued Anthropic at a staggering US$380 billion – just weeks before the US Pentagon slapped the AI darling with a “supply chain risk” label.

That designation is usually given to firms associated with foreign adversaries, and it impacts how Anthropic can do business with the US federal government. Specifically, Anthropic’s quarrel with the Pentagon stems from the fact that it refuses to allow its Claude models to be used for mass surveillance of American citizens and fully autonomous weapons systems.