Google to invest up to $2 billion in OpenAI rival Anthropic

Google has agreed to invest up to US$2-billion in the artificial intelligence company Anthropic, a spokesman for the start-up said.

The company has invested $500-million upfront into the OpenAI rival and agreed to add $1.5-billion more over time, the spokesman said on Friday.

Google is already an investor in Anthropic, and the fresh investment would underscore a ramp-up in its efforts to better compete with Microsoft, a major backer of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, as Big Tech companies race to infuse AI into their applications.

Amazon.com also said last month it would invest up to $4-billion in Anthropic to compete with growing cloud rivals on AI.

In Amazon’s quarterly report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission this week, the online retailer detailed that it had invested in a $1.25-billion note from Anthropic that can convert to equity, while its ability to invest up to $2.75-billion in a second note expires in the first quarter of 2024.

Google declined to comment, and Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The rising number of investments shows ongoing manoeuvring by cloud companies to secure ties with the AI start-ups that are reshaping their industry.

Anthropic, which was co-founded by former OpenAI executives and siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, has shown efforts to secure the resources and deep-pocketed backers needed to compete with OpenAI and be leaders in the technology sector.