Newsom announces Anthropic partnership, offering Claude AI at 50% off for California agencies

California Governor Gavin Newsom has struck a deal with Anthropic to expand the use of Claude across California's government at a discounted cost. The agreement will make Claude the first artificial intelligence tool available to all state agencies and local governments.

The decision comes after months of tensions between Anthropic and the Trump administration, which restricted the rollout of the company's most advanced AI models and designated it a risk to the national supply chain.

Announcing the partnership, the California Governor's Office said:  "Through the agreement, state agencies may access Anthropic’s AI productivity assistant, Claude, at a 50% discounted price, coupled with free workforce training as well as expert GenAI technical assistance and workflow input from Anthropic developers. The agreement also provides the same discounted offer for California’s local governments, including cities and counties," a press release announced.

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"Claude is the first AI productivity tool that will be available to all State agencies though the California Department of Technology’s new Statewide Information Technology Shared Services (SITeS) portal. The portal centralizes AI tools in one place with transparent pricing around key business use cases — such as improving operational efficiency, enhancing data security, and optimizing state worker experience," the announcement continued.

Beyond the deal with Anthropic

Earlier this year, Newsom signed an executive order aimed at raising standards for AI companies seeking state contracts while allowing California to maintain an independent procurement process from the federal government. Although the order could potentially put the state at odds with Washington, Newsom's administration has said the Anthropic agreement is not intended as a rebuke of the Trump administration.

A series of executive orders issued by Newsom has sought to promote generative AI as a way to improve government efficiency. Claude is already being used for several state functions, ranging from assisting with code analysis to supporting a platform that gathers public feedback on AI and its impact on jobs.

Anthropic's AI models also helped develop and now power California's AI assistant, Poppy, which serves as one of the primary entry points for state employees to use AI tools.

Beyond Poppy, Claude powers the state's public engagement platform, where residents can share feedback on how AI is affecting jobs and the future of work. The models are also used for customer support at the California DMV, to streamline internal workflows for Medicaid recipients at the Department of Health Care Services, and in partnership with the California Department of Technology to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities in state code and critical systems.

State officials have also indicated that California plans to pursue similar discounted AI agreements with other model providers as it expands the use of artificial intelligence across government services.