Anthropic Nears Deal For $2 Billion Amazon Investment – Report

Tom Jowitt,
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Anthropic Claude AI chatbot.Image credit: Anthropic

More funding for AI startup Anthropic, after report that Amazon is to pump in additional $2 billion (£1.6 billion)

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The huge levels of funding that AI startups require has been demonstrated again this week, after a report of another investment tranche for Anthropic.

Reuters (citing sources who requested anonymity to discuss private matters) reported that Anthropic is near a deal to raise an additional $2 billion (£1.6bn), at a price that values the company at $60 billion ($48bn).

This is in addition to Amazon’s $4 billion (£3.2bn) investment into Anthropic announced in November 2024. Under that deal Amazon Web Services was to be named Anthropic’s “primary training partner”.

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Previous funding

Amazon is already one of the biggest investors in Anthropic.

In September 2023 Amazon had made an initial investment of $1.25 billion in Anthropic, but also stated it had plans to invest up to $4 billion.

Then in March 2024 Amazon had pumped an additional $2.75 billion into the San Francisco-based Anthropic, completing its $4 billion investment.

In September 2024, the British competition regulator CMA cleared Amazon’s $4bn investment into Anthropic, saying it did not meet threshold for in-depth review under merger regulations.

The CMA had investigated amidst wider concern that a small number of tech companies were controlling the emerging generative AI field, but the UK regulator found the combined revenue and market share of Anthropic and Amazon in the UK were not large enough to require an in-depth inquiry under the UK’s merger rules.

Then in November 2024 Amazon said it would invest an additional $4 billion (£3.2bn) in Anthropic, which is best known for its Claude chatbot.

As with Amazon’s previous investment that round took the form of convertible notes and would come in phases, beginning with a tranche of $1.3bn.

Alphabet has also previously invested hundreds of millions of dollars into Anthropic.

Fresh investment

Now Reuters has reported that Anthropic is near a deal to raise an additional $2 billion from Amazon, at a price that values the AI startup at $60 billion.

Venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners is reportedly leading the funding round.

Anthropic declined to comment, Reuters reported.