Google may sign a new multibillion-dollar cloud deal with AI startup in which it's already invested

Google is reportedly in discussions with Anthropic , the artificial intelligence (AI) startup in which the tech giant is already invested, for a new deal. The reported deal would provide the AI company with additional cloud computing power valued at tens of billions of dollars. The agreement, which has not been finalised yet, centres on Google providing extensive cloud services to Anthropic. The potential deal would grant Anthropic access to Google's specialised chips, known as tensor processing units (TPUs), which are custom-designed to accelerate machine learning workloads. Google is already both a previous investor in and a current cloud provider for Anthropic.

According to a Bloomberg report, Anthropic and Google have declined to comment on the ongoing discussions, which are said to be in their early stages and could still change.


Google and other companies that have invested in Anthropic


Google has previously invested about $3 billion in Anthropic, including a $2 billion commitment in 2023 and an additional $1 billion earlier this year. Amazon has pledged roughly $8 billion in funding. Anthropic is a major customer of Amazon Web Services and extensively uses Amazon’s custom AI chips.

Anthropic recently entered preliminary funding discussions with Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX, roughly a month after completing a $13 billion funding round. That round, led by Iconiq Capital , with Fidelity Management and Research Co. and Lightspeed Venture Partners as co-leads, increased Anthropic’s valuation to around $183 billion, including the funds raised.

Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, the San Francisco-based company is known for its Claude family of large language models, which compete with OpenAI’s GPT models. Like other AI firms, Anthropic continues to raise substantial funding to support research and development, as well as the growing demand for advanced AI apps.