Google reportedly invests $400 million in OpenAI competitor ChatGPT Anthropic

Alphabet’s Google has invested nearly $400 million (about Rs 3,299 crore) in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, which is testing a rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, according to a person familiar with the deal.

Google and Anthropic declined to comment on the investment, but separately announced a partnership in which Anthropic will use Google cloud services. The deal marks the latest alliance between a tech giant and an AI startup as the field of generative AI – technology that can generate text and art in seconds – heats up.

The deal gives Google a stake in Anthropic but does not require the startup to spend the funds to buy cloud services from Google, said the person who asked not to be identified because the terms were confidential.

“AI has evolved from academic research to become a primary driver of technological change, creating new growth opportunities and improved services across industries,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, in a press release. “Google Cloud provides open infrastructure for the next generation of AI startups, and our partnership with Anthropic is a great example of how we’re helping users and businesses harness the power of trusted and responsible AI.”

Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives including siblings Daniela and Dario Amodei, Anthropic AI released a limited test of a new chatbot named Claude in January to compete with OpenAI’s hugely popular ChatGPT.

The Google-Anthropic partnership follows Microsoft’s high-profile $10 billion investment in OpenAI, which builds on the billion dollars the software giant poured into the AI ​​startup in 2019, plus a another round in 2021.

Such alliances give more established companies like Microsoft and Google access to some of the most popular and advanced AI systems. Startups like Anthropic, in turn, need funding and cloud computing resources that a tech giant like Google can provide. In announcing the deal, Google said its cloud division would bring computing power and advanced AI chips that Anthropic plans to use to train and deploy its future AI products.

Anthropic’s language model assistant Claude has yet to be made public, but the startup said it plans to expand access to the chatbot “in the coming months.”

The deal underscores Google’s commitment to AI, particularly in ways that can be extended beyond the company’s core search business. “I’m excited about the AI-driven leaps we’re about to unveil in search and beyond,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said Thursday as the company announced its fourth-quarter results. . He said Google plans to launch chatbots “in the coming weeks and months” and allow consumers to use these products “as a search companion.”

Google’s investment in Anthropic was reported earlier by the Financial Times.

© 2023 Bloomberg LP