By Isabelle Bousquette

Anthropic co-founder Daniela Amodei helped create one of the most cutting-edge chatbots on the market. Her 4-year-old son is convinced her job is taking care of an alligator. It's easy to understand the confusion.

The AI tool shares its name, Claude, with a 30-year-old albino gator that's become a local celebrity. They aren't related. But they've become inseparable.

Employees at the $183 billion Silicon Valley tech giant have developed a bizarre fascination with alligator Claude, who lives nearby in a patch of swampland at San Francisco's California Academy of Sciences.

Anthropic's San Francisco headquarters is crawling with stuffed albino alligators. You'll find them on workdesks, at reception and inside a vending machine. A bespoke albino alligator emoji is one of the most popular reactions on the company Slack channel, usually an indicator of positive vibes. And a 24/7 livestream of the alligator plays on screens around the office, including at every elevator bank.

Since the elevators can be slow, staff spend a decent amount of time absorbed in the daily rhythms of Claude, who likes cuddling with snapping turtles and holding his own hand.

"We stand around and we watch Claude, and we talk about what Claude's doing and oftentimes Claude's just being a cute little interesting guy," said Margaret Vo, Anthropic's head of user education.

Claude moved from Florida to California in 2008, traveling alongside a rattlesnake in the bed of a pickup truck. Since then, he's gained a cult following among San Franciscans, who send him hundreds of fan letters every year, including homemade art and even cash.

He's also become the pale face of the academy, which also houses a 93-year-old fish named Methuselah. Claude is known as a bit of a diva with a picky appetite, said Bart Shepherd, senior director of Steinhart Aquarium. He used to have a roommate named Bonnie, until the two had an altercation that ended in her biting off one of his toes.

Shepherd attributes the broader fascination to Claude's rare color and the fact that Californians are more wowed than Floridians by the sight of an alligator. Claude is the subject of two children's books.

And like other celebrities, he's also the subject of conspiracy theories, including one that he doesn't exist. "People don't think Claude is a real alligator, and then he'll move and people will be like, 'Ahhh I didn't know he was real!'" said Shepherd. "It's like what did you think? That I was going to make a giant plastic white alligator and put it on a rock?"

Chatbot Claude, named after an AI researcher, launched in March 2023. No one at Anthropic seems to remember how the obsession began. Some employees who were casual fans and had visited Claude started pushing for the gator to become an unofficial mascot.

Then last year, Anthropic held its annual holiday party at the academy. It bought 600 plushies for staff, sending gift shop sales surging 80% that month. Vo remembers a jumbo-sized Claude plushie crowdsurfing all night to the tunes of Anthropic's in-house band.

Earlier this year the AI company announced it would sponsor alligator Claude, including footing the bill for enclosure maintenance and introducing the ClaudeCam livestream.

Officials at Anthropic and the academy said they feel a synergy between the two Claudes.

"Both spark a lot of curiosity and make really complex topics accessible, " Vo said.

Claude turned 30 this month, making him one of the oldest albino alligators. He's got a slate of commitments, including a birthday party sponsored by Anthropic. Government officials were on hand to watch as a special fish "cake" was lowered into his enclosure. Mayor Daniel Lurie gave an address, state Sen. Scott Wiener presented Claude with a Senate Certificate and the city proclaimed Sept. 15 as "Claude the Alligator Hatch Day."

He appeared on video before the rapper Doechii's set at the recent Outside Lands music festival, and again in mascot form at a Golden State Valkyries game, where fans erupted and started an alligator "chomp" with their arms.

At one point the company was considering installing an AI experience that could help museum visitors learn more about alligator Claude from AI Claude. Then it had a concern: "If you're talking to Claude the AI about Claude the alligator, will kids think that they're just talking to the alligator directly?" Vo said.

What does AI Claude think about the connection? I asked. "It is amusing that there's a famous white alligator and an AI both named Claude out there in the world," Claude said. "I suppose we're both somewhat unusual in our respective domains -- he's rare due to his albinism, and I'm...well, an AI having conversations with people."

Vo said that when clients or visitors come to the office, it's a common source of questions and curiosity.

"They'll come into our elevators and inevitably someone just goes, 'Why do you livestream an alligator?'"

Write to Isabelle Bousquette at isabelle.bousquette@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 16, 2025 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT)

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