Trying to make sense of artificial intelligence? Here’s your guide
NBCNov 22, 2022
The Facts
On Monday, Amazon announced its plan to invest up to $4B in AI startup Anthropic. Amazon will invest $1.25B immediately in the Claude chatbot maker with the option of investing the remainder later.
Amazon employees and cloud customers will gain early access to Anthropic’s technology, while the latter will work to develop technology for Amazon’s in-house Trainium and Inferentia chips.
The Spin
Narrative A
Amazon’s groundbreaking $4B investment in Anthropic enhances the supply chain titan's position against Silicon Valley rivals like Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia. This move introduces more robust competition in the tech industry AI "arms race." The availability of more alternatives in AI-friendly chips is also welcome at such a crucial stage in the sector.
Narrative B
While this large-dollar deal is notable, Anthropic is entangled in multiple cloud infrastructures — Google and Amazon — making the dynamics between the three companies somewhat hazy. Anthropic leaders have insisted "nothing has changed" in its February deal with Google, so the impact of the Amazon deal on the AI boom remains to be seen.