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

Anthropic’s Chatbot Claude Tops Apple App Store Rankings Amid Pentagon Negotiations

Anthropic’s chatbot Claude seems to have benefited from the attention around the company’s fraught negotiations with the Pentagon.

According to a report by CNBC, Claude has surged to the top of the free app rankings in Apple’s US App Store. Over the weekend, it surpassed OpenAI’s ChatGPT to claim the number one spot, a position it still holds as of Sunday morning.

Data from SensorTower shows that Claude was outside the top 100 at the end of January and has consistently ranked in the top 20 throughout February. Its rapid ascent in the past few days, from sixth to first place, is remarkable.

A spokesperson for Anthropic revealed that daily signups have broken records every day this week, with free users increasing by over 60% since January and paid subscribers more than doubling this year.

Following negotiations with the Pentagon, where Anthropic sought safeguards against the misuse of its AI models for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons, President Donald Trump instructed federal agencies to cease using Anthropic products. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth labeled the company a supply-chain threat.

In response, OpenAI announced its own agreement with the Pentagon, with CEO Sam Altman highlighting safeguards related to surveillance and autonomous weapons.

This article was originally published on February 28, 2026. It has been updated to reflect Claude’s rise to the top spot in the rankings and the growth statistics from Anthropic.