The Hypocrisy of Big Tech’s AI Bets
Google just pledged up to $40 billion to Anthropic, with an initial $10 billion injection that could balloon if the startup meets performance targets. This comes on top of Amazon’s existing $8 billion stake and fresh $5 billion commitment, with potential for another $20 billion. Let’s call this what it is: a desperate arms race between two giants who missed the OpenAI boat and are now trying to buy their way into the AI club. The cozy relationship between Big Tech and supposed “safety-first” AI companies is becoming a joke. When your main investors are the very platforms whose data practices you claim to reform, the mission statement rings hollow.
The Real Risk Isn’t AGI. It’s Monopoly.
This isn’t about advancing AI safety or building better models for humanity. It’s about Google and Amazon ensuring that no rival startup escapes their orbit. Anthropic gets to play both sides: preaching responsible AI development while taking billions from the world’s largest ad and cloud companies, whose business models depend on the very data extraction Anthropic criticizes. The notion that Anthropic remains independent is fiction. When your two biggest investors are Google and Amazon, you don’t get to claim neutrality. If Anthropic truly cared about long-term safety over short-term cash, it would cap investment from any single entity. Instead, it’s auctioning off its principles to the highest bidder.
Source: Theverge
