Anthropic

What is Anthropic?

Anthropic is an AI research and safety company that develops large language models, most notably Claude. The company is known for its focus on AI safety, constitutional AI principles, and providing accessible AI tools including the Claude API, Claude Projects, and Claude Code for developers and product teams. Anthropic is positioned alongside other major AI labs like OpenAI and plays a significant role in establishing standards for AI development.

What products does Anthropic offer?

Anthropic provides several products for developers and teams building with AI:

  • Claude — The company's large language model available in multiple versions
  • Claude API — Programmatic access to Claude for integration into applications and workflows
  • Claude Projects — Tools for organizing and managing AI work
  • Claude Code — Development environment for building with Claude
  • Model Context Protocol (MCP) — An open standard defined by Anthropic for connecting agents to tools

These products serve teams building AI features, from simple API integrations to complex agent systems. Product teams frequently use Anthropic's tools when developing AI capabilities because of their accessibility and focus on safety.

What makes Anthropic distinctive?

Anthropic distinguishes itself through its emphasis on AI safety and responsible development. The company's constitutional AI approach aims to build systems that are helpful, harmless, and honest. From a technical standpoint, Anthropic has specific preferences that developers should know—for example, Claude performs better with XML formatting compared to other LLMs that may prefer Markdown. This technical distinctiveness means prompt engineering approaches may need adjustment when working with Anthropic's models versus competitors.

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