Google has taken a leap into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) by investing $300 million in a  start-up company, Anthropic. This move makes Google the latest tech giant to support the new generation of AI companies vying for a spot in the rapidly expanding field of generative AI. The investment allows Google to hold a 10% stake in the start-up and significantly boosts Anthropic’s financial resources as it continues to buy substantial computing resources from Google’s cloud computing division.

    This collaboration highlights the immense influence that a few big tech companies hold over other AI companies that need access to cloud computing platforms to handle the massive AI models being developed. Google’s investment is similar to the $1 billion cash-for-computing investment made by Microsoft in OpenAI three years ago.

    The Microsoft investment set OpenAI on a path to building groundbreaking AI systems, ultimately leading to the launch of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that can engage in text-based conversations with users. Microsoft has since followed up with a second “multiyear, multibillion-dollar” investment in the company.

    Both OpenAI and Anthropic are working on advancements in generative AI, which are sophisticated computer programs capable of writing scripts and creating art in a matter of seconds. While Microsoft has integrated OpenAI’s technology into many of its services, Google’s relationship with Anthropic is limited to supplying the company with tech resources. This arrangement is part of an ongoing AI arms race between tech companies.

    Anthropic was established in 2021 by a group of researchers led by Dario Amodei who left OpenAI after a disagreement over the company’s direction. They were worried that Microsoft’s first investment in OpenAI would steer the company towards a more commercial focus and detract from its original emphasis on the safety of advanced AI.

    Anthropic has developed its own AI chatbot, Claude, which rivals OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Although Claude has not yet been released publicly, the start-up had raised over $700 million prior to Google’s investment, which was made in late 2022 but had not been reported until now. The company’s largest investor is Alameda Research, the crypto hedge fund of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who invested $500 million before filing for bankruptcy last year. Anthropic has been flagged as an asset that may help creditors with recoveries by FTX’s bankruptcy estate.

    Google’s investment was made by its cloud division, run by former Oracle executive Thomas Kurian. By bringing Anthropic’s data-intensive computing work to Google’s data centers, the company is trying to close the gap with Microsoft’s lead in the AI market, which was fueled by its work with OpenAI. Google’s cloud division is also working with other start-ups such as Cohere and C3 to increase its presence in the AI industry.

    Google and Anthropic declined to comment on the investment or on what influence, if any, Google would have over the start-up’s business. According to a filing in Delaware, where Anthropic is incorporated, the company has two classes of stock, one of which has ten times the voting rights of the other. Dual-class stock arrangements like this are commonly used by tech company founders to maintain control and dilute the impact of outside investors.

    In conclusion, Google’s investment in Anthropic marks a significant move in the tech giant’s involvement in the AI industry. With its financial support, Anthropic is poised to make even more progress in the field of generative AI and the race for technological superiority among tech companies continues. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Anthropic and Google’s relationship, and how it will impact the ever-evolving world of AI.