Google Backs AI Firm Anthropic With $300 Million, Following Series B Investment From Controversial FTX Co-Founder
As the artificial intelligence (AI) wars intensify, the AI firm Anthropic has raised $300 million from Google and sources say that the tech giant will get roughly a 10% stake in the AI company. Interestingly, in April 2022, Anthropic raised approximately $500 million from sources including Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), co-founder of FTX; Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda; Nishad Singh, former director of engineering at FTX; and several others.
AI Company Backed by Sam Bankman-Fried Raises $300 Million in Capital From Google
Following the launch of Chatgpt and Microsoft’s investment in Openai, the artificial intelligence (AI) competition has intensified. Anthropic, an AI safety and research company, has raised $300 million from Google. According to The Financial Times (FT), three sources familiar with the deal reported that Google will receive a 10% stake in Anthropic. The sources stated that the capital will be used to fund computing resources, according to the FT report.
Anthropic also provided information about the subject on the company’s website. The AI firm’s announcement page states that it has chosen Google Cloud as its preferred cloud provider. “The partnership is designed for the companies to collaborate in developing AI computing systems,” the announcement says. “Anthropic will utilize Google Cloud’s advanced GPU and TPU clusters to train, expand, and implement its AI systems.” Like Chatgpt, Anthropic is an AI firm that is developing an AI assistant called “Claude,” which aims to utilize steerable AI techniques and safety enhancements.
The same announcement page, below the Google announcement, reveals that the firm raised capital from Sam Bankman-Fried, the former co-founder of FTX. “The Series B round was led by Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX. The round also included participation from Caroline Ellison, Jim McClave, Nishad Singh, Jaan Tallinn, and the Center for Emerging Risk Research (CERR),” the Anthropic announcement made in April 2022 explains.
Reports suggest that of the $580 million raised, Bankman-Fried and his associates contributed at least $500 million to Anthropic. The crypto community has been discussing Bankman-Fried’s investment in the AI firm. A Twitter account called Autism Capital tweeted: “Google has just invested $300M in Sam Bankman-Fried backed by stolen user money Anthropic AI.” The account also stated, “Sam, FTX, and notable Effective Altruism figures such as Jaan Tallinn led the Anthropic Series B for $580M.”
FTX creditor Sunil K estimates that Bankman-Fried’s stake could be worth “$700 million to $1.1 billion.” An individual asked Sunil K what he believed might happen with the stake and he replied, “Will have to sell the stake and clawback the money.” A Twitter user asked a similar question to Autism Capital, “Serious question: Is there a chance the Bankman-Fried money gets clawed back from Anthropic?” Moreover, it’s also been reported that some of Anthropic’s researchers previously worked for Openai.
Last month, the news start-up Semafor, a firm that was criticized by Elon Musk for being backed by the disgraced FTX co-founder, SBF, said it would buyback SBF’s stake in the company. “We are planning to repurchase Sam Bankman-Fried’s interest in Semafor and to place the money into a separate account until the relevant legal authorities provide guidance as to where the money should be returned,” Semafor’s co-founder and chief executive Justin Smith told the New York Times.
What are your thoughts on the recent investment by Google into the Sam Bankman-Fried-backed Anthropic AI? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.
