Google to invest up to $40bn in AI rival Anthropic

Google parent company Alphabet has announced plans to invest up to $40 billion in artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic, marking a significant expansion of its involvement with one of the key players in the global AI race.

Under the agreement, Anthropic said Google will immediately invest $10 billion in cash at a valuation of around $350 billion, aimed at supporting a major expansion of the company’s computing infrastructure.

A further $30 billion may follow if Anthropic meets specific performance targets.

The deal comes shortly after Amazon confirmed it would invest up to $25 billion in the same startup, underscoring growing competition among major tech firms to secure influence in leading AI developers.

Anthropic has emerged as a major competitor in the artificial intelligence sector, with its Claude models gaining traction particularly in software development and coding applications.

Its Claude Code tool has been widely adopted by developers, contributing to strong revenue growth.

The company recently reported an annualised revenue run-rate of more than $30 billion, a sharp increase from approximately $9 billion at the end of 2025.

Earlier funding rounds valued the firm at up to $380 billion, with some reports suggesting even higher private market interest.

To support its expansion, Anthropic has secured multiple infrastructure agreements, including deals with semiconductor and cloud computing providers, as demand for large-scale AI training capacity continues to rise.

Industry analysts say the investment highlights how leading technology companies are increasingly intertwined with both collaboration and competition in the AI space, as they race to build and scale advanced models.

The move further intensifies the global AI arms race, where access to computing power, talent, and infrastructure is becoming as important as the models themselves.