NEWS  AI  March 28, 2024  Reading time: 2 Minute(s)

Max (RS editor)

Amazon has announced a substantial additional investment of $2.75 billion in Anthropic, an AI company specializing in generative artificial intelligence. This latest infusion of capital builds upon a previous investment of $1.25 billion made last year, elevating the total investment in Anthropic to an impressive $4 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, Amazon has secured a minority stake in Anthropic, affording the e-commerce giant a role in steering the strategic direction of the AI firm.

Moreover, Amazon gains the opportunity to offer Anthropic's cutting-edge models through Amazon Bedrock, an AWS fully-managed service designed to empower developers in integrating generative AI features into their applications and services seamlessly.

A pivotal aspect of the collaboration entails Anthropic harnessing the power of AWS Cloud, utilizing Trainium and Inferentia chips to train and deploy its models. This partnership extends further as Anthropic collaborates with Amazon in advancing the development of Trainium and Inferentia technologies.

Amazon's proactive approach to addressing the energy-intensive nature of generative AI has led to the development of Trainium and Inferentia chips. The Trainium chip, purpose-built by Amazon, delivers up to 50% cost savings for training compared to equivalent Amazon EC2 instances. Meanwhile, the Inferentia chip enhances inference generation, offering up to 40% better price performance.

Dr. Swami Sivasubramanian, Vice President of Data and AI at AWS, underscored the significance of the collaboration, stating:

"We have a notable history with Anthropic, together helping organizations of all sizes around the world to deploy advanced generative artificial intelligence applications across their organizations."

The deepened partnership between Anthropic and Amazon not only facilitates the advancement of generative AI technologies but also addresses critical concerns surrounding security and sustainability. For many emerging AI startups, securing adequate funding and resources is a major hurdle, prompting them to seek partnerships with industry leaders like Amazon to chart a more sustainable trajectory.

This strategic alliance not only signifies a significant investment in Anthropic but also represents a broader commitment by Amazon to drive innovation in the field of AI. As both companies continue to collaborate closely, the possibilities for transformative applications of generative AI technologies are boundless, offering customers new avenues for innovation while ensuring security, responsibility, and efficiency in AI development and deployment.

 IMAGES CREDITS: AMAZON / ANTHROPIC