Google’s Investment in AI Startup Anthropic Revealed in Court Documents
Newly disclosed court documents obtained by the New York Times have shed light on Google’s financial stake in Anthropic, an artificial intelligence start-up, revealing the tech giant’s broader strategy to maintain a competitive edge in AI development.
Google’s Stake in Anthropic
Legal filings in an antitrust case reveal that Google holds a 14% stake in Anthropic. Google holds up to 15% of Anthropic but has no voting rights, board seats, or observer roles in decisions.
Despite these limitations, Google will invest an additional $750 million in Anthropic in September through convertible debt. This brings Google’s total investment in the AI start-up to more than $3 billion.
Anthropic’s Efforts to Maintain Independence
Anthropic has secured over $14.8 billion in funding from investors, including Menlo Ventures, while maintaining an ownership structure that prevents dominance by any single tech giant. Google invested over $2 billion in 2023, while Amazon contributed $4 billion that year and another $4 billion in 2024. Anthropic depends on Google and Amazon for cloud computing and AI chips, so some of its funding returns to them.
Regulatory Concerns and Antitrust Scrutiny
According to the New York Times, Google’s investment in Anthropic has drawn regulatory attention amid growing concerns that major tech companies could use financial backing to gain undue influence in the AI sector. Amazon and Microsoft's investments in AI from OpenAI and Anthropic have competition and industry dominance concerns.
These revelations came up during a landmark antitrust case, when a federal court decided in August that Google monopolized the market for online search. At first, the Justice Department had recommended that Google divest search-competitive AI products, but later it changed its mind and instead demanded that Google prenotify officials of future AI investments.
Anthropic’s Position
Anthropic's court filings warned that forcing Google to sell its stake could hurt the company and competition by reducing its value and funding. Co-founder Tom Brown warned that cutting ties with Google would cause "grievous harm." Although Google refused to disclose any financial information, it said its investments are designed to generate returns and expand the AI market.
