California Signs Deal With Anthropic for 50% Discount on Claude for Agencies

California signed a first-of-its-kind agreement with Anthropic giving state agencies, cities, and counties access to its Claude assistant at a 50% discount. Governor Gavin Newsom announced the deal on June 29, according to BeInCrypto, adding free workforce training, technical assistance, and workflow support from Anthropic developers. Access will be offered via the California Department of Technology’s new Statewide Information Technology Shared Services portal. Newsom said the initiative targets efficiency, not headcount cuts, and follows his executive order directing agencies to plan for automation-driven layoffs.