Anthropic, an AI firm that advocates for US dominance in artificial intelligence to counter authoritarian governments like China, counts the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a partial owner. While Anthropic argues that democracies must lead in AI development to prevent "authoritarian AI" and human rights abuses, its capital structure includes investments from Abu Dhabi’s royal family. In February 2026, Anthropic raised $30 billion in a funding round featuring MGX, an investment vehicle controlled by the Emirati government. A subsequent $65 billion round on May 28, 2026, which brought the company’s valuation to $965 billion, also included MGX as an investor.

Human rights reports indicate the UAE engages in extensive surveillance, arrests, and restrictions on civil liberties, mirroring the behaviors Anthropic criticizes in its policy papers. Matthew Tokson, a law professor at the University of Utah, suggests that Anthropic’s anti-authoritarian rhetoric serves as a "cynical policy position" to encourage a light regulatory environment in Washington. He notes that the UAE’s similar history of using AI for surveillance undermines the firm's claims that American-led AI is inherently safer or more democratic.

Investigations by Citizen Lab and news outlets link MGX chair Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan to state-sponsored surveillance and hacking operations. Reports indicate that G42, an AI company chaired by Tahnoun and a founding partner of MGX, was involved in analyzing voice and text data from the instant messaging app ToTok for suspicious government-defined activity. DNS records suggest that personnel at both G42 and MGX have configured servers to access Anthropic’s flagship model, Claude.

Internal communications obtained by Wired reveal that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei acknowledged the reputational risks of accepting Gulf State capital. In a 2025 memo, Amodei admitted that such investments grant authoritarian regimes "some soft power" and potentially benefit "dictators." However, he defended the practice by characterizing the potential for public criticism as a "Comms Headache" while emphasizing the necessity of securing substantial capital for the company’s operations.

Anthropic, an AI firm that advocates for US dominance in artificial intelligence to counter authoritarian governments like China, counts the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a partial owner. While Anthropic argues that democracies must lead in AI development to prevent "authoritarian AI" and human rights abuses, its capital structure includes investments from Abu Dhabi’s royal family. In February 2026, Anthropic raised $30 billion in a funding round featuring MGX, an investment vehicle controlled by the Emirati government. A subsequent $65 billion round on May 28, 2026, which brought the company’s valuation to $965 billion, also included MGX as an investor.

Human rights reports indicate the UAE engages in extensive surveillance, arrests, and restrictions on civil liberties, mirroring the behaviors Anthropic criticizes in its policy papers. Matthew Tokson, a law professor at the University of Utah, suggests that Anthropic’s anti-authoritarian rhetoric serves as a "cynical policy position" to encourage a light regulatory environment in Washington. He notes that the UAE’s similar history of using AI for surveillance undermines the firm's claims that American-led AI is inherently safer or more democratic.

Investigations by Citizen Lab and news outlets link MGX chair Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan to state-sponsored surveillance and hacking operations. Reports indicate that G42, an AI company chaired by Tahnoun and a founding partner of MGX, was involved in analyzing voice and text data from the instant messaging app ToTok for suspicious government-defined activity. DNS records suggest that personnel at both G42 and MGX have configured servers to access Anthropic’s flagship model, Claude.

Internal communications obtained by Wired reveal that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei acknowledged the reputational risks of accepting Gulf State capital. In a 2025 memo, Amodei admitted that such investments grant authoritarian regimes "some soft power" and potentially benefit "dictators." However, he defended the practice by characterizing the potential for public criticism as a "Comms Headache" while emphasizing the necessity of securing substantial capital for the company’s operations.