Big tech investment in AI reaches record highs with Amazon’s $4b venture

Last week, Amazon brought its AI funding to a record high level with a $4bn investment in the AI startup Anthropic, best known for the Claude family of large language models (LLMs). Amazon's total stake in the AI startup is now $8bn, doubling their previous $4bn investment in 2023.

This has brought Amazon’s share of the AI market closer to Microsoft, whose investment in OpenAI reached $13bn in 2023. Google also holds a $2bn stake in Anthropic, in addition to its other AI ventures.

As big tech companies continue to invest ever greater sums in AI startups, they are also increasing the involvement of AI technologies in their business. Anthropic has announced that it will use Amazon Web services (AWS) as the primary source of training data for its LLMs. Amazon’s subsidiary Annapurna Labs will also use Anthropic to help build the very semiconductor chips that are intended to power the next generation of LLMs. 

Much like Google and Microsoft, Amazon clearly sees AI integration as a key component of the future of its business. It is likely that the Claude LLMs will be incorporated into Amazon’s extensive network of devices, such as the Alexa smart speaker system, as part of an effort to stay at the top of the ever-competitive tech landscape.

As AI becomes a core component of tech businesses, it is more crucial than ever that directors understand the implications and their responsibilities. Reach out to us to see how we can help you learn to assess the use of AI in your business, and to keep abreast of the latest developments in the field.