Matt Clifford joins Anthropic as international affairs lead

Matt Clifford, the architect of the British government’s artificial intelligence strategy, has joined the US-based startup Anthropic in a senior leadership role. Clifford, who previously served as an AI opportunities adviser to Keir Starmer, will become the managing director of international affairs. In this capacity, he is tasked with managing the company’s relationships with governments outside the United States, including those in the UK, Europe, India, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Clifford will maintain his existing responsibilities as the chair of the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), which funds ambitious science and technology projects, and as the president of the venture capital firm Entrepreneurs First.

His transition has sparked debate regarding the ‘revolving door’ between government advisory roles and the private sector. The non-profit group Unlock Democracy noted that such moves raise concerns about former advisers utilizing government-acquired knowledge within the industry. Anthropic, the developer of the Claude chatbot, is currently preparing for a potential stock exchange flotation that could value the company at approximately $2 trillion.