Anthropic co-founder on cutting access to Windsurf: ‘It would be odd for us to sell Claude to OpenAI’
TechCrunchJUN 9
Anthropic Blocks OpenAI's Claude API Access
Above: Icons of AI chatbot applications. Image copyright: Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
Anthropic's decision to cut OpenAI's access is a necessary measure to protect intellectual property and enforce contracts. OpenAI violated its terms by using Claude to develop competing products rather than for legitimate benchmarking purposes. The timing preceding GPT-5's release makes this behavior particularly suspicious and warrants immediate attention.
Narrative B
This move represents anticompetitive behavior that stifles industry collaboration and innovation. Benchmarking competitor models is a standard practice for safety and progress; yet, Anthropic maintains access to OpenAI's systems while blocking reciprocal access. Such tactics harm the broader AI development ecosystem.