OpenAI, Anthropic, Google have been in talks on AI safety for weeks

OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind have been collaborating on artificial intelligence safety issues for several weeks, according to Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s global policy chief. Lehane spoke to reporters on Tuesday and confirmed the discussions, which were first reported by Bloomberg. He is in Washington to work with U.S. lawmakers on addressing catastrophic risks associated with AI.

The confirmation follows an essay published Saturday by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei that urged the industry to work together to slow the pace of frontier AI and avoid catastrophic risks. Several industry leaders supported Amodei’s letter and its call to action, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google’s Demis Hassabis, and SpaceXAI’s Elon Musk. Altman said OpenAI would join Anthropic in embedding third-party evaluators into the company to monitor for safety.

Lehane also said the companies do not need a government waiver to coordinate on safety. Amodei’s essay had proposed a narrow government waiver allowing such coordination. Altman and others have noted that the talks could put the companies at risk of violating antitrust law if the coordination is found to suppress competition.

The news confirms earlier reporting and hints that the companies were working together. In an interview with Fortune late last week, Altman hinted that he had been in private discussions with other AI leaders. This week, The Information reported that the three companies have been working together to create a standards body for the AI industry, something Altman reportedly told staff would need to happen without the support of the U.S. government.

Hassabis called on the U.S. in July to establish a new standards body to act as an AI watchdog, with the power to screen the world’s most advanced models and coordinate industrywide slowdowns if dangers progressed. President Trump has dismissed safety concerns as a hoax and pushed back on the need for tighter regulations, saying any slowdown would give China a leg up in the race. His key AI advisor David Sacks, a longtime investor with a personal stake in much of the industry, echoed this, saying fears of existential risk from AI were overblown.

At the same Tuesday meeting, Lehane said OpenAI supports a provision in the FRONTIER Act that would force top frontier labs to allow independent verification organizations into their companies to ensure models are developed safely. TechCrunch has reached out to Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI for comment.

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