A month after OpenAI introduced its latest large language model, GPT-5, competing artificial intelligence firms have also made significant advancements. Notably, Perplexity garnered attention with an unsolicited $34.5 billion acquisition offer for Google Chrome, while Anthropic, supported by both Alphabet and Amazon, finalized a $13 billion Series F funding round, elevating its valuation to an impressive $183 billion.
Anthropic's AI chatbot, Claude, launched in March 2023, has demonstrated remarkable growth, with its run-rate revenue escalating from $1 billion at the year's outset to $5 billion by the end of August. These achievements represent a substantial victory for early venture capital investors in Anthropic, but they hold even greater strategic importance for Amazon, given its deepening involvement with the AI company.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon's dominant cloud computing division, is strategically integrating Anthropic's Claude to fortify its position in the competitive AI market. By offering Claude as a premier solution within AWS's Bedrock service, Amazon provides enterprise clients with the flexibility to experiment with various large language models, thereby reinforcing customer loyalty within the AWS ecosystem. This strategy also enables Amazon to accelerate the adoption of its proprietary Trainium and Inferentia silicon chips, designed to diminish reliance on third-party GPUs from companies like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. This move is expected to enhance AWS's profitability by capturing more of the value chain and improving unit economics.
For investors, the critical question revolves around the tangible financial impact of Anthropic on Amazon. Despite substantial capital expenditures in AI-related initiatives, these investments are part of a calculated long-term strategy rather than a short-term gamble. The collaboration with Anthropic is poised to bolster AWS's ability to secure extensive enterprise contracts, solidifying Amazon's role as a vital component of AI infrastructure. As customer switching costs for alternative cloud providers escalate, Amazon is well-positioned to command a larger share of AI workloads, leading to sustainable, high-margin recurring revenues and a potential expansion in its valuation.
