Elon Musk compares Anthropic to FTX, heats up AI race

Elon Musk has intensified the AI arms race by endorsing a viral social media critique that compares Anthropic to the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

The tech billionaire agreed that Anthropic and its CEO, Dario Amodei, give off “Sam Bankman-Fried vibes.” He suggested that the AI company evokes memories of Sam Bankman-Fried and the fraudulent crypto empire he once led.

“FTX energy” and branding strategy

Tech commentator Lukas (@hyperonline) posted a detailed thread explaining why Anthropic’s corporate persona makes him uncomfortable, even though he admits to liking the company’s AI models.

“I’ve been trying to understand why Anthropic puts me off (even though I love their models), and I think it’s this: Anthropic has ‘FTX energy,’” Lukas wrote.

He argued that both Anthropic and FTX were built around the philosophy of effective altruism (EA), a movement that heavily influenced Bankman-Fried.

According to Lukas, both companies lean heavily on messaging that portrays them as “the responsible ones,” combined with wholesome branding and the image of “genius nerd” founders to build public trust.

Notably, Bankman-Fried was an early investor in Anthropic, pouring $500 million into the AI startup in 2022. It was later revealed that these funds came from misappropriated FTX customer assets.

Lukas described the overall impression as “calculated and insincere,” likening it to “some sort of hyperpredator” in disguise.

Musk targets a direct rival

It is worth noting that Musk is the founder of xAI, the company behind the Grok language model. As such, his remarks are widely seen as a direct attack on one of his biggest competitors in the AI race.

In a related development, pop star Katy Perry recently drew attention after publicly backing Anthropic. On Feb. 28, she shared on X (formerly Twitter) a screenshot showing her purchase of a $214.99 annual subscription to Claude Pro.