Anthropic is throttling its new Mythos model for certain tasks while building apps that directly compete with its largest customers. Customers, partners, and investors are pushing back.
Anthropic released Claude Fable 5 this week, a version of its Mythos model, but quietly dialed back performance when customers used it for tasks related to building their own AI software or hardware. After public backlash, the company walked things back slightly, saying it would at least notify customers when a weaker model is being served.
According to The Information, some investors and industry watchers see their fears confirmed. "It's only a matter of time before only the model creators have access to the most powerful models," Martin Casado, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, wrote on X back in April. Everyone else gets access to smaller, distilled versions, he said. Casado is also an investor and board member at coding startup Cursor, which is both an Anthropic customer and a competitor to Claude Code.
Officially, the throttling is meant to stop foreign adversaries or rival AI labs from using Anthropic's models to improve their own tech. But according to The Information, developers worry that even basic features for AI-powered apps could get restricted. The suspected motive: Anthropic wants to keep the best tech for its own competing products.
