Amazon has announced a $4 billion investment in Anthropic, the San Francisco-based AI startup founded by former OpenAI research executives. This latest funding round brings Amazon’s total investment in the company to $8 billion, solidifying its role in the rapidly growing generative AI sector. Despite the substantial investment, Amazon remains a minority shareholder.
As part of the expanded partnership, Amazon Web Services (AWS) will now serve as Anthropic’s primary cloud and training partner. Anthropic will utilize AWS Trainium and Inferentia chips to train and deploy its advanced AI models. Additionally, AWS customers will gain early access to a unique feature enabling fine-tuning of Anthropic’s Claude AI model using their own data.
Anthropic, known for its Claude chatbot and AI models, is a key player in the competitive generative AI market. This space has seen explosive growth, with startups like Anthropic and OpenAI competing alongside tech giants Google, Microsoft, and Meta. Analysts predict the market could exceed $1 trillion in annual revenue within the next decade.
This announcement follows several milestones for Anthropic. In October, the company introduced an AI capability that mimics human computer use, allowing its models to interpret screens, navigate websites, and execute complex tasks. Early adopters of this technology include Asana, Canva, and Notion, with Amazon among the first to test the tool.
Earlier this year, Anthropic launched several products aimed at businesses, including Claude Enterprise and its Team plan for smaller organizations. The startup also introduced Claude 3.5 Sonnet, its most powerful AI model to date.
Amazon’s involvement with Anthropic began with an initial $1.25 billion investment in September 2023, followed by a $2.75 billion round in March 2024—its largest outside investment in the company’s history. Unlike some investors, Amazon does not hold a seat on Anthropic’s board, maintaining a hands-off approach to governance.
Anthropic has also attracted investment from Google, which committed $2 billion to the startup in 2023, including a significant cloud partnership.
As the AI arms race intensifies, Amazon’s growing relationship with Anthropic highlights the company’s strategic focus on generative AI, positioning AWS as a key infrastructure provider for the technology’s future.