Amazon recently announced that it had increased its investment in Anthropic, a start-up in the field of artificial intelligence, by $2.75 billion. This additional investment brings Amazon’s total investment in Anthropic to $4 billion, making it Amazon’s most important A.I. partner. The significant increase in investment demonstrates the immense financial support required by companies like Anthropic to remain competitive in the race to build cutting-edge A.I. systems, alongside competitors such as OpenAI and Google.
Despite the increased investment from Amazon, Anthropic recently cut ties with a controversial investor, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. FTX had originally invested $500 million in Anthropic in 2021, but has since sold off the majority of its stake in the A.I. start-up. This move came after a federal judge approved the sale of FTX’s stake in Anthropic, which had seen significant growth in value, with Anthropic’s valuation reaching $15 billion in just one year.
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by researchers from OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot. Concerns about OpenAI’s partnership with Microsoft, eventually valued at $13 billion, led to the creation of Anthropic. The start-up has been able to raise substantial funds due to the high costs associated with developing foundational systems for generative A.I., including hiring staff and securing computing power. Amazon’s investment in Anthropic includes access to A.I. systems and commitments to provide computing power, reflecting the broader trend of tech companies investing heavily in A.I.
As part of the partnership with Amazon, Anthropic has agreed to build its A.I. using specialized computer chips designed by Amazon. This collaboration is expected to benefit both companies by enabling Anthropic to meet the demands of cutting-edge A.I. systems and allowing Amazon early access to Anthropic’s powerful A.I. models. The partnership also includes the provision of access to Anthropic’s most advanced A.I. models, known as Claude 3, for customers of Amazon’s cloud computing service.
The bankruptcy estate of FTX agreed to sell a majority of its shares in Anthropic to various buyers for $884 million, with the majority stake going to ATIC Third International Investment, a firm linked to a sovereign wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates. Other buyers included the quantitative trading firm Jane Street and the philanthropic group, the Ford Foundation. The president of the Ford Foundation, Darren Walker, views Anthropic as an important competitor to OpenAI and believes that Anthropic’s emergence as a strong competitor is beneficial for both markets and the public interest.
Overall, the increased investment from Amazon in Anthropic reflects the growing importance and competitiveness of the A.I. industry, as tech companies continue to pour resources into developing cutting-edge A.I. systems. The partnership between Amazon and Anthropic, with its focus on specialized computer chips and access to powerful A.I. models, highlights the collaborative efforts within the industry to push the boundaries of A.I. technology. The sale of FTX’s stake in Anthropic to various buyers, including a sovereign wealth fund and philanthropic organizations, underscores the diverse range of stakeholders involved in the burgeoning A.I. sector.
