Australian Government and Anthropic Sign MOU on AI Safety and Research Cooperation

Anthropic has signed an MOU with the Australian government to support AI safety research and the National AI Plan. CEO Dario Amodei met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra to formalize the agreement, under which Anthropic will share information about new model capabilities and risks with Australia's AI Safety Institute and conduct joint evaluations and research.

The collaboration also includes sharing Anthropic Economic Index data with the Australian government to track AI adoption, impact, and labor market changes across the economy. It will initially focus on key industries including natural resources, agriculture, healthcare, and financial services, alongside efforts to expand AI education and job training. Anthropic noted that Australian users engage with Claude in the most diverse ways among English-speaking countries.

Support for research and innovation was also announced. Anthropic will deploy AUD$3 million worth of Claude API credits to collaborate with the following four institutions.

• Australian National University (ANU): Introducing Claude for genetic sequencing analysis to address rare diseases and for computing education courses
• Murdoch Children's Research Institute: Supporting pediatric heart disease research and stem cell medicine programs
• Garvan Institute of Medical Research: Automating genomic research, interpreting disease mechanisms, and resolving diagnostic bottlenecks for rare pediatric genetic diseases
• Curtin University: Expanding research collaboration across health sciences, humanities, business, law, science, and engineering

Anthropic is also launching its first deep tech startup API credit program targeting VC-backed startups. Companies in drug development, materials science, climate modeling, and medical diagnostics can receive up to USD$50,000 worth of API credits plus additional support, and the company is also preparing to open a Sydney office alongside long-term investment in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.