Entrepreneur First co-founder Matt Clifford joins Claude maker — TFN

• Matt Clifford has been appointed as Anthropic’s managing director for worldwide affairs.
• The transfer has led to new criticism of the ‘revolving door’ between UK officers and AI corporations.
• Clifford will stay chairman of each ARIA and Entrepreneurs First as Anthropic prepares for its IPO.

For 3 years, Matt Clifford had suggested two UK prime ministers on synthetic intelligence and is now becoming a member of a significant AI firm.

Clifford has posted on LinkedIn that he’s taking the place of managing director for worldwide affairs at Anthropic. He might be based mostly in London and might be in control of the corporate’s dealings with governments outdoors North America, together with the UK, Europe, the Asia-Pacific area, and India.

Clifford described the brand new publish as an additional improvement of his work with the federal government. “The selections that can form AI’s influence shouldn’t be made by anyone actor — it would take business, governments and civil society working collectively,” he wrote, highlighting the necessity for cooperation between business, governments and civil society.

Shifting from Whitehall to Anthropic

In 2022 Clifford was appointed chairman of ARIA, the UK’s Superior Analysis and Invention Company. In 2023, he acted because the consultant for then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the AI Security Summit held at Bletchley Park, an occasion that led to the institution of the UK’s AI Security Institute.

In January 2025, Keir Starmer requested him to arrange the federal government’s AI alternatives motion plan and retained him as AI adviser to hold it out. Clifford resigned from this position on the finish of July 2025 after holding the place for six months, for private causes.

Clifford’s transfer to Anthropic has raised larger concern about UK officers taking on positions within the AI sector. Comparable instances embrace Nick Clegg becoming a member of Meta in 2018, Rishi Sunak accepting advisory roles with each Microsoft and Anthropic, and George Osborne becoming a member of OpenAI.

Earlier than he entered authorities, Clifford was already a widely known particular person within the European tech scene. In 2011, he co-founded Entrepreneurs First with Alice Bentinck and has since constructed a portfolio of corporations now value greater than $20 billion.

He’ll stay as chair of each Entrepreneurs First and ARIA.

Reporting to Anthropic’s new international affairs workforce

Clifford will report back to Mariano-Florentino “Tino” Cuéllar, who was appointed Anthropic’s first chief international affairs officer, and had beforehand served as president of the Carnegie Endowment for Worldwide Peace and as a trustee of Anthropic’s Lengthy-Time period Profit Belief.

Clifford acknowledged that he joined to carry the advantages of AI to the world and that he might be working with chief govt Dario Amodei and president Daniela Amodei.

This appointment happens amid Anthropic’s preparations for a potential large-scale public providing. The corporate submitted confidential documents related to its IPO to the US Securities and Change Fee, following a Series H funding round in May that valued the corporate at $965 billion.

As Anthropic strikes in the direction of public markets and comes underneath larger authorities scrutiny, it’s customary to rent skilled former authorities officers to hitch its authorities affairs workforce.

The best way individuals interpret this hiring resolution will range relying on their views of officers who transfer from authorities to business.