California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a unique partnership with Anthropic AI, making the cloud the first to be available at a discounted rate to all state agencies and local governments. “We are entering into a partnership to strengthen cybersecurity and provide @ClaudeAI at a 50% discount to state agencies – and local governments across California. The Golden State helped create Silicon Valley – and every Californian should benefit from the responsible use of its latest innovations,” he announced.The development comes as Anthropic is at loggerheads with the Donald Trump administration after the government restricted the rollout of the company’s most advanced models and designated it as a risk to the national supply chain.“AI should not replace the human functions of government,” Newsom said in a statement regarding his Anthropic deal. “This will help our staff move faster, solve problems more effectively, and deliver better results for Californians.”Through the agreement, state agencies can access Anthropic’s AI productivity assistant, the Cloud, at a 50% discounted price, as well as receive free workforce training, as well as expert GenAI technical support and workflow input from Anthropic developers. The agreement also provides similar concession offers to California’s local governments, including cities and counties.“Building AI responsibly and in service to people has been our vision from the beginning, and this partnership really puts that into practice,” Kate Jensen, Anthropic’s head of the Americas, said in a statement.The cloud is already being used at the California DMV for customer service and internal workflows in the health care services department assisting Medicaid recipients. The state technology department has entered into a cybersecurity partnership with Anthropic, which uses the cloud to detect vulnerabilities in state code and critical systems.California’s broader AI effort includes using the technology across government while tracking its potential impact on workers. Last week, Newsom’s office announced a tool to track whether AI is contributing to job losses in the state. California’s first meeting with Anthropic for the deal took place on March 5, the same day the Pentagon formally labeled the cloud maker a supply chain risk.