March 12, 2012 - Amidst fierce competition in the field of artificial intelligence, San Francisco startup Anthropic The company has always been seen as a "lone wolf" independent of the tech giants. However, according to court documents recently obtained by The New York TimesGoogleThe relationship with Anthropic is much closer than is known. The document discloses thatGoogle currently holds a stake in Anthropic 14% and plans to inject another $750 million into it in the current year through a convertible bond dealGoogle's total investment in Anthropic has now exceeded $3 billion. At this point, Google's total investment in Anthropic has exceeded $3 billion (note: currently about 21.7 billion RMB).
Although Google does not have a vote in Anthropic, a seat on the board of directors, or direct control of the company.But its large-scale financial support still raises questions about Anthropic's independence.. As more and more AI startups rely on tech giants for financial backing, regulators are keeping a close eye on whether such deals could give existing giants an unfair competitive advantage. However, a previous proposal by the U.S. Department of Justice that could have forced Google to sell some of these shares has recently been put on hold.
Google is actively developing its own AI technology while at the same time bankrolling competitors behind the scenes, Techcrunch saysThe strategy is clearly to "bet" on the many possibilities of the future.Meanwhile, Amazon has extended a "money olive branch" to Anthropic. Meanwhile, Amazon has extended a "monetary olive branch" to Anthropic, currently agreeing to invest up to $8 billion in the company. In this context, the deep bonding of Anthropic and other large AI startups with tech giants begs the question: are they innovators who remain independent, or are they gradually becoming an adjunct to the tech giants?