Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, has experienced an unprecedented surge in consumer popularity, driven by a highly publicized feud with the Department of Defense, humorous Super Bowl advertisements targeting OpenAI, and the growing adoption of its developer tools like Claude Code.

Analysis of billions of anonymized credit card transactions from approximately 28 million U.S. consumers, conducted by Indagari for TechCrunch, reveals that Claude has been acquiring paid subscribers in record numbers. While this data is substantial, it comes with caveats: it does not encompass every consumer, nor does it include Claude's core enterprise business or its free-tier users. Consequently, Indagari cannot provide total current or new user figures. Despite varying estimates for total Claude consumer users, a spokesperson for Anthropic confirmed to TechCrunch that paid subscriptions have more than doubled this year. Notably, consumers began paying for Claude in record numbers between January and February, and previous users also returned in record numbers during February.

The majority of these new subscribers are opting for the lowest tier, the “Pro” user plan, priced at $20 per month, in contrast to the higher $100 or $200 per month options. Data extending through early March further confirms the continuation of this robust subscriber growth, with information typically available after a two-week delay.

Several factors explain Claude's increased consumer awareness since January. Anthropic's Super Bowl commercials effectively mocked ChatGPT's decision to display ads to users, promising that Claude would never do the same. These spots were not only humorous and effective but also reportedly perturbed OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. However, a more significant wave of attention began in late January when media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal and Axios, reported on a escalating dispute between Anthropic and the Department of Defense.

At the heart of this conflict was the disagreement over the military's permissible uses of Anthropic's AI. Anthropic staunchly refused to allow the DoD to employ its AI models for lethal autonomous operations, which involve AI potentially taking human lives, or for mass surveillance of American citizens. This disagreement became increasingly public, culminating in Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei issuing a firm public statement on February 26 amidst threats from the DoD to harm Anthropic's business by labeling it a supply risk. The DoD did proceed with this designation, leading to legal action. Although lawsuits are now underway, a federal judge recently issued a temporary block on the department’s designation.

This period of heightened drama coincided with a sharp increase in new user growth for Claude. The growth was particularly pronounced following the late January media reports and leading up to Amodei’s public statement on February 26. Beyond the public disputes, the introduction of developer and productivity tools like Claude Code and Claude Cowork in January, along with the recently released Computer Use feature, have also been significant drivers of subscriptions. The Computer Use feature allows Claude to autonomously navigate a computer by clicking, scrolling, and taking actions, and works in conjunction with Dispatch, which enables users to assign tasks from their phones. These advanced features are exclusively available to paid, not free-tier, users.

Despite Anthropic’s impressive growth among U.S. consumers willing to pay for AI, Claude still lags considerably behind ChatGPT. While OpenAI did experience a spike in uninstalls immediately after announcing a deal with the DoD – a move that starkly contrasted with Anthropic’s safety-first stance – Indagari’s data indicates that OpenAI continues to attract new paid subscribers at a rapid pace, maintaining its position as the largest consumer AI platform.