California’s state government announces a deal with Anthropic to expand access to its AI assistant, Claude, for government use at a discounted rate. Multiple outlets report that Governor Gavin Newsom announces the agreement, which makes Claude available through California’s government shared services portal run by the California Department of Technology. Under the deal, state agencies and, in some descriptions, local governments also receive Claude access at about half price. In addition to the pricing arrangement, Anthropic provides free workforce training for government employees, according to reports. The stated aim is to help government operations become more efficient by supporting tasks such as analyzing information and drafting documents. Other coverage frames the initiative as part of California’s broader effort to bring AI tools into public sector workflows, rather than as a change to federal policy. While one outlet notes related competitive dynamics involving other AI providers, all sources describe the core outcome as California gaining broad, statewide access to Claude at a discounted cost along with training for staff.