Artificial Intelligence (AI) labs are in a race to stay ahead of their big tech backers. While Google and Meta have prioritized developing their own AI models, Microsoft and Amazon have taken a different approach, investing in smaller technology companies and integrating their AI models into their own products and services.
Microsoft has invested a staggering $13 billion in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. This partnership grants Microsoft exclusive access to the AI systems developed by OpenAI, while OpenAI benefits from the computational power provided by Microsoft. Similarly, Anthropic has secured deals with both Amazon and Google, receiving $4 billion and up to $2 billion respectively. In return, Anthropic’s models are made available through Amazon and Google’s cloud services platforms.
However, the landscape is changing. Amazon has reportedly tasked its AGI team with building a model that outperforms Anthropic’s most capable AI model, Claude 3, by mid-year. Microsoft is also said to be training a foundation model large enough to compete with frontier model developers such as OpenAI.
The focus of AI development in recent years has been language models, which can generate coherent prose and usable code, and power chatbots like ChatGPT. While OpenAI and Anthropic are currently leading the pack, the big tech companies have advantages that could tip the scales in their favor.
Read more: time.com