Google is investing up to $2 billion in the artificial intelligence (AI) company Anthropic, the rival of OpenAI. A spokesperson for the startup told Reuters on Friday that Google has invested $500 million upfront in Anthropic and agreed to an additional $1.5 billion to be invested over time.
Google is already an investor in Anthropic, and the new investment would signal a step up in the company's efforts to compete with Microsoft, a partner of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, as Big Tech companies race to integrate AI into their applications.
Anthropic is the developer of Claude 2 chatbot, a rival of ChatGPT. CNBC reported that Claude 2 is being utilized by companies such as Slack, Notion, and Quora.
According to the Financial Times, a previous $300-million deal between Google and Anthropic involved the tech giant taking a stake of about 10% in the startup and boosting the latter's finances at a time when it was purchasing substantial computing resources from Google's cloud computing division.
Aside From Google, Amazon Also Invests on Anthropic
Last month, Amazon also announced that it would invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic to compete with growing AI cloud rivals. According to Amazon's quarterly report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission this week, the online retailer disclosed that it had invested in a $1.25 billion note from Anthropic that can convert to equity.
Amazon's ability to invest up to $2.75 billion in a second note reportedly expires in 2024's first quarter. The New York Times reported that Amazon's investment will help the startup establish "a bigger footprint in AI development" amid this AI race between Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has reportedly told analysts during Thursday's earnings call that AI represents an opportunity worth "tens of billions" in its cloud business, Amazon Web Services.
The AI Race: Google Leads in Investing
As of March this year, Google has reportedly invested a whopping $30.7 billion in AI. The tech giant has been using AI to improve its search engine and other products, such as Google Assistant.
Google has been working on expanding its Search Generative Experience (SGE), a type of Google Search that employs generative AI to answer users' questions.
On the other hand, Amazon has reportedly invested $10 billion in AI. The company has been using AI to improve its delivery services and voice assistant, Alexa.
The New York Times reported that Microsoft's investment in OpenAI was worth $13 billion. The company is using AI to improve its products and services, such as voice recognition and natural language processing.
Microsoft's chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella previously said the company was "rapidly infusing AI across every layer of the tech stack and for every role and business process to drive productivity gains for our customers."
Among the tech companies around the world that are investing heavily in the AI technology, Google is reportedly leading the pack.
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