Meta and Microsoft want to stop their employees using Claude

• Meta halved its number of Claude seats while pushing MetaCode adoption
• Microsoft also reportedly asked workers to use Copilot over Claude
• Anthropic could face reputational damage from DoD designation

There seems to be an ongoing shift away from Claude happening in Big Tech, but the reasons behind why two major companies are looking to reduce Claude expenditure aren’t so clear.

Cost could be one of the biggest factors, with Microsoft’s internal Claude spending estimated to have been on course for at least $1 billion this year, per The Information.

With both Microsoft and Meta having their own internal AI systems, it makes sense for them both to use their own tools for less cash.

Meta and Microsoft reportedly cutting down on Claude usage

Microsoft had already asked employees to limit their Claude usage and spend more time with Copilot and other Microsoft tools, The Information shared, while Meta has reportedly halved the number of its workers using Claude Code from 60,000 earlier this year to just 30,000. At the same time, its internal alternative, MetaCode, has already passed 30,000 users.

Meta, too, was set to spend billions on internal AI usage before the company imposed token limits, spending controls and other monitoring.

We’ve already seen similar trends among smaller AI customers, with US organizations opting for cheaper Chinese models over homegrown alternatives. It’s likely an important economic equation, where paying significantly less for a marginally interior model becomes the most viable option for most use cases.

Anthropic itself has also had a troubling couple of months, after being deemed a national security supply chain risk by the US Department of Defense. A designation that will have undoubtedly altered consumer and enterprise perception of the company, irrespective of the designation’s potentially political founding.

“The company may experience material revenue losses or business disruptions attributable to these events,” Anthropic warned in an IPO prospectus (via Reuters).

The bigger story impacts Anthropic – potentially losing billions in revenue from two of its biggest customers could seriously impact revenue for a company that’s slated to go public for a reported valuation of over $2 trillion (per Reuters).