Amazon Boosts Investment in A.I. Start-Up Anthropic to $4 Billion
In a move that highlights the growing importance of artificial intelligence in the tech industry, Amazon announced on Wednesday that it has increased its investment in Anthropic, a San Francisco-based start-up, to a total of $4 billion. This makes Anthropic Amazon’s most significant A.I. partner, as the e-commerce giant competes with companies like OpenAI and Google in the race to develop cutting-edge A.I. systems.
Six months ago, Amazon initially invested $1.25 billion in Anthropic, with the option to raise its total investment to $4 billion by the end of March. The additional $2.75 billion investment underscores the significant resources being poured into A.I. development by tech companies and the financial support needed for Anthropic to stay competitive.
“We believe our strategic collaboration with Anthropic will further improve our customers’ experiences, and look forward to what’s next,” said Swami Sivasubramanian, an Amazon executive, in a blog post announcing the investment.
Meanwhile, Anthropic recently severed ties with a controversial investor, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which had a stake of about 8 percent in the start-up. The value of FTX’s investment had tripled to $15 billion in just a year, highlighting the rapid growth and potential of Anthropic in the A.I. space.
Founded in 2021 by researchers from OpenAI, Anthropic has been steadily raising funds to develop foundational systems for generative A.I. The partnership with Amazon includes access to A.I. systems and commitments to provide computing power, without triggering antitrust concerns.
As part of the collaboration, Anthropic will use specialized computer chips designed by Amazon to build its A.I. models. Amazon also plans to offer Anthropic’s powerful A.I. models, such as Claude 3, to customers of its cloud computing service.
The bankruptcy estate of FTX agreed to sell about two-thirds of its shares in Anthropic for $884 million, with the majority going to ATIC Third International Investment, a firm linked to a sovereign wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates. Other buyers included Jane Street and the Ford Foundation, with the latter viewing Anthropic as a strong competitor to OpenAI.
Overall, the increased investment from Amazon signals a growing focus on A.I. development and collaboration in the tech industry, as companies strive to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence.
