According to a Wall Street Journal story, Google has chosen to increase its artificial intelligence (AI) bets by contributing an extra $2 billion to the AI firm Anthropic. Google has already invested $500 million in the company, and this new investment brings their total commitment to $550 million so far in 2023.

As for the specifics of the investment, Anthropic has already received $500 million from Google, and the remaining $1.5 billion will be paid out by Google in installments over time.

Investment details

Google had already invested $550 million in Anthropic before this mega-deal. Anthropic has signed a multi-year contract with Google Cloud, reportedly for more than $3 billion, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. This follows Amazon’s massive $4 billion investment in Anthropic in September.

Anthropic’s goals

The purpose of these funds is to help Anthropic train its AI systems, such as its AI helper Claude, in the hopes of making significant strides forward in the field of artificial intelligence.

Competition with OpenAI

Anthropic competes with OpenAI, the company responsible for developing ChatGPT.

Since 2019, OpenAI has received over $13 billion in financing from Microsoft and has been using that money to expand the functionality of its artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT.

Co-founders and previous affiliations

Former employees of OpenAI and now co-founders of Anthropic, Dario and Daniela Amodei, quit the company in 2021 after disagreements over the safety risks inherent in developing AI systems.

Previous investments

Anthropic’s first funding came from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in April 2022, some seven months before FTX’s bankruptcy, before Google and Amazon became involved. He put in roughly $530 million.

Good News for FTX’s Investors

Creditors of FTX are optimistic that their claims will be fully compensated in light of Anthropic’s recent value increase.

The increasing interest and rivalry among AI startups that aim to develop groundbreaking AI technologies is reflected in Google and other industrial giants’ massive investments in the field.