IT Home On October 6, according to The Information, Meta and Microsoft have asked employees to reduce the use of the Claude AI model by Anthropic to cut costs, and encourage them to use more self-developed AI tools.
It is reported that Microsoft’s senior management predicted earlier this year that the annual expenditure on using Anthropic AI within the company would reach at least $1 billion (IT Home note: at current exchange rates, this is approximately 6.714 billion RMB). Subsequently, Microsoft asked employees to reduce their reliance on Claude and use more self-developed AI tools; recently, the related budget has been cut by more than one-third.
Microsoft’s recent adjustment is mainly aimed at internal daily use, and it does not mean that the demand for its Anthropic model services offered to external clients has decreased accordingly. Currently, the company continues to provide AI models such as Claude to customers through its enterprise-level cloud platform.
The internal data for Meta shows that the number of people using Claude Code has significantly decreased to about 30,000, while earlier this year it was around 60,000. In addition to a 10% layoff in spring this year, which reduced the total workforce base, Meta’s recent promotion of its own AI tools is also a key reason for the decline in Claude usage.
Currently, Meta has launched several internal AI tools for employees. Among them, the internal users of MetaCode have exceeded 30,000; another tool, Muse Code, which has been tested with external customers, was launched in August, and its current internal users also surpass 6,000. Muse Code is equipped with Meta’s own large model and is widely regarded as a direct competitor to Claude Code.
However, despite the significant reduction in the number of Claude Code users within Meta, its spending volume remains quite substantial. It is reported that Meta’s spending on Claude Code over the past 28 days was still over $105 million (equivalent to approximately 705 million RMB at current exchange rates).
According to Anthropic’s IPO prospectus previously submitted, two major clients together account for approximately 25% of its revenue. Although the names are not publicly disclosed, the market generally speculates that Meta and Microsoft are its key major clients. Additionally, Anthropic stated in the prospectus that most of the company’s major clients have not signed long-term cooperation agreements with it, and the clients may cut or even stop their procurement spending at any time.