US Clears Anthropic to Restore Mythos 5 Model Access

Anthropic has received government approval to restore some access to its Mythos 5 AI model, cooling a conflict that began earlier this month when the White House blocked the company from letting foreign nationals and businesses use it.

The clearance came after Anthropic addressed concerns about national security risks, Bloomberg News reported late Friday. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wrote to the company in a letter seen by Bloomberg that it "has worked with the US government to address risks associated with the Covered Models" and that "these efforts have yielded significant progress." The letter added that the model could be released to "certain trusted partners."

Commerce Department spokesman Benno Kass told Bloomberg: "In just two weeks, we have worked diligently to ensure America remains the global leader in AI while safeguarding our security."

Anthropic confirmed it will begin redeploying Mythos 5 to a small group of cyberdefenders and infrastructure providers. The company said it is "working to provision the approved set of providers and restore their access to Mythos 5 as quickly as possible" and is "pleased to see this progress." The company also said it will continue to work with the government to expand access and to make its sister model, Fable 5, available for general use again.

It is not clear what specific measures Anthropic took to ease the government's concerns that the models could be "jailbroken" – bypassed by users trying to remove guardrails. A source familiar with the matter said the company will hold further talks on Fable 5 over the weekend.

The initial blockage earlier this month prevented Anthropic from allowing foreign nationals and businesses to access Mythos 5 and Fable 5. The move was a rare example of direct government intervention in AI model deployment, and it raised questions about how the US would balance security with its push for AI leadership.

European Commission Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen said last week that the regulator had met with the White House to discuss gaining access to Mythos, suggesting the dispute had international implications.

For anyone tracking AI regulation, the key unknown is what technical or operational changes Anthropic made to satisfy the White House. Without that detail, the scope of future approvals – for Fable 5 or for other companies with similar models – remains uncertain. The government's willingness to grant limited access to trusted partners, rather than a full block, signals a compromise that may become a template for other advanced AI systems.

Anthropic will hold further talks on Fable 5 over the weekend.