California to Provide State Agencies Access to Claude AI

California agencies to access AI assistant Claude at 50% discount.

On June 29, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced an agreement with Anthropic. State, city, and county agencies will be able to access the AI assistant Claude at a 50% discount.

The agreement also includes free employee training, technical support, and participation of Anthropic developers in workflow customization.

“AI should not replace human jobs in government. It should help employees work faster, solve problems more efficiently, and achieve better outcomes for Californians,” Newsom stated.

Claude will be the first AI tool for work tasks available to all state agencies through the California Department of Technology’s SITeS shared IT services portal. According to the governor’s office, several state agencies are already using Anthropic’s product for customer service, internal processes, and cybersecurity tasks, including code scanning and correction.

The agreement continues Newsom’s initiative to integrate AI into the public sector. In 2023, he directed state agencies to explore the use of generative artificial intelligence, and in 2025, he signed an order to enhance government efficiency.

In March 2026, the governor also ordered an update to AI procurement rules considering civil rights, privacy, and employee risks.

Earlier, on June 9, Anthropic released two versions of the Claude model family. The company described Fable 5 as a Mythos-class solution, but safe for general use. Claude Mythos 5 is a “private” base model with relaxed restrictions in certain areas.

However, a few days later, developers restricted access to the tools for foreign nationals following a U.S. government directive. Some media outlets speculated that the reason was the use of the models by a group linked to China.

At the end of the month, Anthropic accused operators associated with Alibaba of distilling Claude.