Google-backed Anthropic is currently engaged in discussions to raise a significant sum of $750 million in an upcoming funding round.
In a bid to secure a substantial financial boost, Google-backed Anthropic is currently engaged in discussions to raise a significant sum of $750 million in an upcoming funding round.
The funding initiative is reportedly being spearheaded by Menlo Ventures, as disclosed by an insider with direct knowledge of the matter to Reuters on Wednesday. The artificial intelligence (AI) startup’s current pre-funding valuation stands at an impressive $18.4 billion, according to the same source.
Co-founded by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, both former executives at Microsoft-backed competitor OpenAI, Anthropic is positioning itself to compete with OpenAI and establish its leadership in the highly competitive technology sector.
Last month, while OpenAI was busy solving its internal fights, Anthropic announced enhancement for its flagship language model and launched Claude 2.1, a refined version that positions it competitively alongside OpenAI’s GPT series.
Claude 2.1 introduced three pivotal updates, consolidating its standing as a formidable language model. First is the augmentation of the context window, providing users with an expanded scope for nuanced understanding.
Additionally, the company heightened accuracy to ensure precise and reliable outputs. The model’s extensibility amplifies its utility, offering users flexibility in tailoring it to their specific needs.
The Claude chatbot was released in January 2023 and entered the market as the direct competitor of ChatGPT.
In the same month, reports indicated that the board of directors at rival OpenAI approached Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei. The discussions reportedly centered around the possibility of Amodei replacing OpenAI’s chief, Sam Altman and potentially exploring a merger between the two AI startups.
Anthropic has been strongly backed by multiple investors, and the startup has raised substantial funding throughout the year to launch AI products.
In August, South Korea’s leading telecom company SK Telecom, invested an additional $100 million in Anthropic. Following a prior investment in May, the collaboration aims to co-create a tailored language model specifically for the telecommunications sector.
Anthropic’s existing AI model Claude, will undergo customization to meet the unique needs of telecom services.
In September 2023, Amazon pledged a significant $4 billion investment in AI startup Anthropic, solidifying Amazon Web Services (AWS) as Anthropic’s primary cloud provider. This partnership not only grants Amazon developers access to advanced generative AI models but also combines Anthropic’s safety research with AWS’s infrastructure expertise, promising secure and reliable AI solutions for AWS customers.
Likewise, in October 2023, the AI startup was navigating talks to raise an impressive $2 billion in funding. Notably, Google — a prominent supporter with a 10% stake acquired in 2022, is poised to play a significant role once again in this funding surge.
Established just two years ago, Anthropic has swiftly become a major player in AI, with its ChatGPT rival Claude.
The company now aspires to develop Claude Next, an AI model surpassing current supercomputer capacities. This ambitious project drives Anthropic’s aggressive fundraising strategy, recognizing the substantial resources required for AI advancement at its scale.
