Google is increasing its stake in AI start-up Anthropic with a fresh investment of over $1 billion, solidifying its position as Silicon Valley titans compete to develop cutting-edge artificial intelligence systems. The Alphabet-owned search giant had previously committed $2 billion to Anthropic and is now boosting its position.
Anthropic, known for its Claude family of AI models, is one of the leading generative AI companies building tools that generate text, images, and code in response to user prompts. Google invented the technology on which these models are built but has lagged behind in commercializing it.
The new investment is part of Anthropic’s efforts to diversify its AI business and take on competitors like Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon. The start-up is also on the verge of securing an additional $2 billion from Silicon Valley investors, which would triple its valuation to around $60 billion.
Anthropic competes with rivals OpenAI and xAI, both of which raised over $10 billion last year, as well as Facebook parent Meta and Microsoft. Amazon has already invested $8 billion in Anthropic, with plans to integrate the Claude models into its Alexa speaker.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/01/google-increases-investment-in-anthropic-by-another-1-billion