Amazon is set to invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic, an artificial intelligence startup, as part of its strategy to compete with tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia in the AI space. The initial investment of $1.25 billion will grant Amazon a minority stake in Anthropic, with the possibility of increasing the investment to $4 billion later on. This move aims to establish a close partnership with a prominent AI startup, similar to Microsoft’s alliance with OpenAI.
Under the agreement, Anthropic will leverage Amazon’s cloud computing platform and dedicated AI chips to develop its models. The deal comes as AI startups are racing to secure costly chips and data center resources to build advanced AI systems, particularly large language models.
Anthropic, valued at nearly $5 billion in a recent funding round, is a top competitor to OpenAI, having raised substantial funds this year. This partnership with Amazon marks a shift from a previous investment by Google and aligns with Amazon’s efforts to capitalize on generative AI technology. Amazon aims to position its Trainium and Inferentia chips as viable alternatives to Nvidia’s processors for training and running generative AI models.
While Amazon’s deal with Anthropic echoes Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI, it differs in that it is not an exclusive arrangement. Amazon will serve as Anthropic’s primary cloud provider for mission-critical workloads, but the startup’s arrangement with Google remains intact.
This investment allows Amazon Web Services (AWS) to showcase alternatives to Nvidia’s chips, potentially dispelling the notion that it lags behind in AI. It represents a significant expansion of the partnership between Anthropic and AWS, providing the startup with access to substantial quantities of Trainium chips for training future models.
Amazon believes it can help “improve many customer experiences, short and long-term, through our deeper collaboration” with Anthropic, said Andy Jassy, Amazon chief executive, in a statement.
Overall, this strategic investment underscores Amazon’s commitment to advancing in the generative AI field and offering customers a wide range of choices and security, distinct from exclusivity-focused strategies seen elsewhere in the industry.
