OpenAI's competitor, Anthropic, in early talks to raise $2 billion more after Amazon investment

AI startup Anthropic is currently in preliminary talks to raise a significant investment of $2 billion, shortly after Amazon committed to invest up to $4 billion in the company, according to people familiar with the matter.

This potential deal reflects the tech industry's widespread desire to capture a piece of Silicon Valley's AI boom. While Anthropic's exact valuation has yet to be determined, insiders speculate that it could be as high as $30 billion, making it a significant player in the AI sector.

This news highlights the growing demand for startups specializing in the "foundation models" behind various AI apps. Operating such models is costly, requiring significant financial investments, a fact that Anthropic and its competitor OpenAI are well aware of.

It is noteworthy that major technology corporations are competing for positions in the AI arena: Google, owned by Alphabet Inc. has already participated in Anthropic's $450 million funding round. In addition, Amazon has not only offered financial support, but is also positioning itself as the main provider of cloud computing and chips for Anthropic. At the same time, Microsoft has made a significant commitment of more than $10 billion to support OpenAI, Anthropic's competitor in generative AI.

Corporate investors who previously backed Anthropic remain enthusiastic about its mission. However, finalizing this deal may depend on attracting a financial investor, perhaps a Wall Street firm or a large venture capital firm, to participate and determine the valuation of the company by leading an investment round.

Anthropic, founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, has established itself as a company committed to the responsible and safe development of artificial intelligence technology. One of its notable unit, the Claude chatbot, aims to become a more attentive and friendly AI capable of performing tasks such as summarizing, searching, answering questions, and coding.