Amazon is making its largest external investment ever, allocating $2.75 billion to back Anthropic, a San Francisco-based startup focused on generative artificial intelligence (AI), CNBC reports.
Anthropic, founded by ex-OpenAI executives, has recently released its latest AI model suite Claude 3, which has shown promising performance compared to competitors like OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Google’s Gemini Ultra. This move marks Amazon’s second round of funding in Anthropic, with an initial investment of $1.25 billion announced in September. The agreement entails Amazon maintaining a minority stake in Anthropic without a board seat.
The investment underscores the growing importance of generative AI in the tech industry, with record investments in the sector in recent years. The deal also highlights the symbiotic relationship between AI startups and cloud providers, with Anthropic using Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its primary cloud provider.
