Amazon Prepares a New Giant in Artificial Intelligence

Amazon continues its investments in artificial intelligence, committing an additional $4 billion to Anthropic, a startup competing with major players like OpenAI and Google. Over the past 14 months, Amazon has invested $8 billion in Anthropic, underscoring the growing importance of AI technology for today’s tech giants.

Anthropic specializes in “generative AI”—technology capable of learning from vast datasets to create human-like text and images. Amazon’s latest investment comes as other major companies are also heavily funding AI startups. For instance, Elon Musk’s xAI is currently working on a new funding round that could value the company at $40 billion. Meanwhile, OpenAI raised an additional $6.6 billion in October, bringing its valuation to $157 billion.

Matt Garman, head of Amazon Web Services (AWS), stated, “We’re inspired by Anthropic’s pace of innovation and commitment to responsible development, and we look forward to working even more closely with them.”

While billions are being poured into AI startups, some investors remain concerned about whether these young and often unprofitable companies can justify such high valuations. Nevertheless, Anthropic and OpenAI continue to attract significant funding, while smaller companies are increasingly merging with giants like Google and Microsoft.

U.S. regulators are closely monitoring these billion-dollar investments by Microsoft, Amazon, and Google in AI startups. However, these deals allow large companies to forge closer relationships with smaller startups, potentially bypassing some regulatory scrutiny.

Anthropic is positioning itself as a responsible player in the AI field. The company’s leaders have warned that AI technology could pose serious threats to humanity if not developed cautiously. This is particularly critical given the broad applications of generative AI, which extends beyond chatbot development, such as Anthropic’s Claude, to automating numerous tasks and reshaping global economic dynamics.

Through its partnership with Amazon, Anthropic leverages Amazon’s data centers, cloud services, and semiconductors. This arrangement means that part of Anthropic’s resources flow back to Amazon, providing additional benefits for the tech giant. This collaboration also strengthens Amazon’s position against competitors like Nvidia, the leader in the AI chip market.

Amazon’s commitment to AI development highlights the sector’s significance in the tech industry. Large companies are willing to invest substantial amounts to dominate the field. This investment bolsters Amazon’s competitive edge against other giants while providing Anthropic with the resources to continue its innovative and responsible approach to AI.

Based on materials from nytimes.com.