Anthropic PBC is in early talks with Alphabet Inc.'s Google on a potential cloud computing deal worth between US$1 billion and US$10 billion to secure additional AI computing power, according to Bloomberg and Ainvest.
The proposed deal, still under negotiation, would expand Google's dual role as investor and cloud provider for Anthropic. News of the talks lifted Alphabet's shares by more than 3% in after-hours trading, while Amazon.com Inc. — another key investor and cloud partner — saw its stock dip.
A rising AI safety contender
Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees with a focus on AI safety, San Francisco-based Anthropic is known for its Claude large language models, direct rivals to OpenAI's GPT lineup. The company has rapidly raised capital to accelerate AI development and meet the surging demand from consumers and enterprises for massive cloud computing resources needed to train and deploy its models.
Anthropic recently secured US$13 billion in Series F funding from Iconiq Capital, Fidelity Management and Research Co., and Lightspeed Venture Partners, nearly tripling its valuation to about US$183 billion. The company also held preliminary talks with Abu Dhabi-based MGX, underscoring rising global investor interest in AI infrastructure, with MGX actively participating in large-scale AI investments alongside BlackRock.
Competing for compute capacity
Google has already invested about US$3 billion in Anthropic (US$2 billion in 2023 and another US$1 billion earlier this year), establishing a dual investor-provider partnership. Amazon has pledged around US$8 billion, contributing both funding and critical computing power via Amazon Web Services and custom AI chips.
The Information reported that the potential deal would extend Anthropic's access to Google Cloud's advanced infrastructure, including new high-performance virtual machines powered by Nvidia's RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPUs. These specialized systems support intensive AI workloads such as large-model training and complex inference. In today's competitive AI race, compute capacity is a key driver of innovation speed and product performance.
By comparison, OpenAI's exclusive partnership with Microsoft Azure, backed by multibillion-dollar compute commitments, highlights the intensifying battle among cloud giants to secure leading AI clients and boost revenue. Analysts note that deals like the one under discussion between Anthropic and Google will be critical for defining leadership in the expanding AI ecosystem.
According to Finimize and TipRanks, the potential deal would help Google solidify its footing in the intensifying cloud competition against Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS.
For Google, the agreement would strengthen its position in the AI cloud market, while for Anthropic, securing consistent large-scale compute access is vital to sustain rapid growth and preserve independence in a fast-changing tech and investment environment.
Article edited by Jerry Chen
