Anthropic’s chatbot, Claude, has gained prominence following the company’s contentious discussions with the Pentagon. As reported by CNBC, Claude has soared to the top of the free app rankings in Apple’s US App Store, surpassing OpenAI’s ChatGPT to secure the number one spot by Saturday evening, a position it retained Sunday morning.
Data from SensorTower indicates that Claude was just outside the top 100 at January’s end, spent most of February in the top 20, and quickly ascended in the past days, reaching first place on Saturday from sixth on Wednesday and fourth on Thursday.
A company spokesperson revealed that daily signups have continually broken records this week, with free users increasing by over 60% since January, and paid subscribers doubling this year.
Following Anthropic’s attempt to negotiate limitations on using its AI models for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons with the Department of Defense, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to halt using Anthropic’s products, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declared the company a supply-chain risk.
OpenAI then announced its own deal with the Pentagon, including safeguards on domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons, as per CEO Sam Altman.
This post was initially published on February 28, 2026, and has been updated to reflect Anthropic’s rise to No. 1, along with company growth figures.