The Information: Microsoft Cuts Planned Internal Claude Spend by More Than a Third; Meta Halves Claude Code Users
The Information reports that Microsoft has cut a projected ≥$1 billion 2026 internal Anthropic spend by more than a third, and that Meta has reduced Claude Code users from about 60,000 to about 30,000 by pushing Muse Code and MetaCode. A Microsoft spokesperson said staff are being steered to GitHub Copilot, though engineers can still choose other models. Meta did not comment. Figures are unnamed sources in one paywalled report; Azure and Bedrock customer spend are not covered.
Two of Anthropic’s largest corporate customers are, per The Information, steering employees off Claude — an internal-use story that lands weeks before IPO marketing is reportedly due to start.
The Information reported on October 5, 2026 (relayed by PYMNTS, TheFly and others) that Microsoft and Meta are pushing staff toward in-house tools. Executives had projected Microsoft would spend at least $1 billion this year on internal use of Anthropic technology — Claude Code, Claude models in Copilot, and Claude Mythos — and that figure has been cut by more than a third. A Microsoft spokesperson told The Information the company is steering staff to GitHub Copilot, though engineers can still choose other models. Meta has cut Claude Code users from about 60,000 earlier this year to about 30,000, largely by pushing Muse Code and internal MetaCode; Meta did not comment in the report.
What is — and is not — in the claim
This is employee and internal spend and seats. Customer purchases of Claude through Azure and Bedrock are outside the inspected secondary accounts. Meta had been on track to spend “billions” internally on AI tools with Claude Code the most popular, per The Information as carried by PYMNTS — still unnamed sourcing.
Every secondary cited here relays The Information. The originating article is paywalled; only the headline and bylines were visible to the desk. The secondaries are not independent corroboration.
Why investors will ask
Anthropic’s enterprise narrative depends on giant seat-and-token buyers. Microsoft and Meta are also competitors shipping coding agents. With IPO marketing reportedly aimed at the week of Nov. 9, revenue concentration and partner-turned-rival dynamics are the questions the report raises — without audited tables.
Limits
- Single origin: The Information, Oct. 5; the body is paywalled (this desk saw headline and bylines only). PYMNTS / TheFly / The Decoder are relays, not independent confirmation.
- Internal use only — not Azure/Bedrock customer GTM.
Sources
- PYMNTS: Microsoft and Meta Steer Staff From Anthropic Claude to In-House AI (October 5, 2026)
- TheFly via Markets Insider: Meta, Microsoft look to cut employee use of Claude, Information says (October 5, 2026)
- The Information: Microsoft Slashes Internal Claude Spending by a Third (headline/bylines only)