Google to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic as AI compute race intensifies

Google deepens ties with Anthropic

Google plans to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic, a move that would give the AI startup a major infusion of cash and help secure the computing power it needs to keep scaling its models, Bloomberg reported Friday.

According to Anthropic, Google’s Alphabet subsidiary is committing $10 billion now at a $350 billion valuation, with another $30 billion contingent on the company meeting certain performance targets. The deal comes as access to compute has become one of the defining battlegrounds in the AI race.

Anthropic recently released its latest model, Mythos, to a limited group of partners. The company says the system is its most powerful model yet and has significant cybersecurity applications, but it has restricted wider access while it works with select organizations to evaluate risks. The model has already leaked into unsanctioned hands, and Anthropic has also acknowledged that running it at scale is likely expensive.

Compute is the new strategic asset

The investment underscores how the AI industry is increasingly being shaped not just by model quality, but by the ability to train and deploy systems at massive scale. OpenAI has spent months locking up capacity through a wide network of deals spanning cloud providers, chipmakers and energy suppliers, including an expanded agreement with Cerebras earlier this month.

Anthropic has been making similar moves. The company has faced complaints from users about Claude usage limits in recent weeks and has responded by striking infrastructure deals to expand capacity. Earlier this month, it reached an agreement with CoreWeave for data center capacity.

This week, Anthropic also secured an additional $5 billion investment from Amazon, part of a broader arrangement under which the company is expected to spend up to $100 billion for around 5 gigawatts of compute capacity over time.

Google remains both rival and supplier

Google is a direct competitor to Anthropic in AI models, but it is also one of the startup’s key infrastructure partners. Anthropic relies heavily on Google Cloud for chips and other infrastructure, including access to Google’s tensor processing units, or TPUs, which are built for AI workloads and are among the strongest alternatives to Nvidia’s processors.

The relationship between the two companies has been deepening for months. Earlier this month, Anthropic announced a partnership with Google and chipmaker Broadcom to access multiple gigawatts of TPU-based computing capacity beginning in 2027. A later Broadcom securities filing put that figure at 3.5 gigawatts.

Google’s new investment expands that arrangement as the industry’s compute arms race continues to accelerate.

Sources:

• techcrunch.com