SAN FRANCISCO: Artificial intelligence giant Anthropic said Thursday it is expanding its use of Google cloud computing and specialized chips in a deal worth tens of billions of dollars.
The deal includes Anthropic purchasing as many as one million Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), which are integrated circuits custom designed by Google, according to the San Francisco-based startup.
The expansion promises to allow Anthropic to bring more than a gigawatt of new computing power online by the end of 2026, helping it meet “exponentially growing demand” for its Claude AI models, Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao said in a statement.
Anthropic says it has more than 300,000 business customers.
Anthropic was founded in early 2021 by former OpenAI employees who felt their employer, led by CEO Sam Altman, was not doing enough to control and prevent the potentially harmful effects of its models.
Backed by Amazon, it quickly joined the big players in generative AI who started a frantic race after the arrival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, releasing new models at a breakneck pace with ever-increasing capabilities.
Although Anthropic was behind OpenAI in terms of users and brand awareness, it had been considered the top player in generative AI for computer coding for several months.
Google, meanwhile, has invested heavily in AI as it vies with OpenAI, Microsoft, Amazon and others to be at the forefront of the technology.
The processing units compete with Nvidia’s coveted GPUs.
“Anthropic’s choice to significantly expand its use of TPUs reflects the strong price performance and efficiencies its teams have seen with TPUs for several years,” said Google Cloud chief Thomas Kurian.
“We continue to innovate and strive for further efficiency and increased capacity of our TPUs.”
New model
Anthropic last month launched its latest generative AI model, Claude Sonnet 4.5, which it claims is the best in the world for computer programming.
Anthropic’s new release is also touted as the most advanced for applications that allow an AI assistant to use a computer as a human would.
Anthropic said early this month that it will open an office in India next year, as global generative AI players make their way into the world’s most populous country.
Demand for AI tools and solutions has surged in India – which is expected to have more than 900 million internet users by the end of the year – thanks to increasing adoption by both businesses and individuals.
Anthropic is valued at $183 billion, while OpenAI’s valuation has reportedly soared after a private share sale to $500 billion, which would make it the most valuable startup in the world.
