Amazon and Google have invested in Anthropic, supply its computing power and sell rival AI products. That matters if you use or buy AI tools.
Anthropic, the AI startup behind Claude, depends on companies that also compete with it. Bloomberg Technology reports that Amazon and Google have both put money into Anthropic. They also supply the computing power it needs. At the same time, both build and sell AI products of their own.
Computing power means the large banks of computers that an AI system needs to run. Anthropic gets that from the same companies that invest in it. Those companies also offer AI products that go head to head with Anthropic's. In one relationship, they are investor, supplier and rival.
Bloomberg's story title also names Microsoft as one of Anthropic's close connections, alongside Amazon and Google. The material available here does not say what that tie looks like.
If you use AI tools or plan to buy them, the company behind a tool may rely on its own rivals to keep it running. That is worth knowing when you pick a tool for your business or your family.
When choosing an AI tool, remember the company behind it may depend on rivals for money and computing power.
Visa tested 22 AI models on realistic shopping tasks. They passed just over half, and often bought the wrong thing anyway.
Read more: Visa tested 22 AI shoppers, and most still make costly mistakesDARPA wants AI to hunt for design flaws in stock, bond, energy and cloud markets, so enemies cannot use them to cause economic damage that reaches households.
Read more: Pentagon wants AI to find weak spots in stock and energy marketsTuring Award winner Richard Sutton says more computing power alone will not make AI truly smart. Big AI companies disagree, which matters for anyone betting on AI.
Read more: AI pioneer says piling on computing power won't make machines smart
