Microsoft and Nvidia have announced a combined investment of $15 billion in Anthropic, the California-based AI company behind the Claude chatbot.
The move comes amid rapid spending across the industry and increasing concerns about a potential AI bubble.
Nvidia has agreed to invest up to $10 billion, while Microsoft will contribute up to $5 billion. Microsoft already owns 27 percent of OpenAI, Anthropic’s main competitor. The company is also continuing to expand its own Copilot AI, which operates on its Azure cloud platform.
As part of the broader agreement, Anthropic will purchase $30 billion worth of Microsoft’s cloud computing capacity. The company will also adopt Nvidia’s newest chip technology.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in an online video about the deal that the two companies would increasingly become each other's customers. He explained that Microsoft would use Anthropic’s models, Anthropic would rely on Microsoft’s infrastructure, and both firms would jointly approach the market to help customers realise the value of AI.
The investments signal a shift in the competitive landscape of generative AI. The sector has seen rising rivalry among OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, which released the latest version of its Gemini model on Tuesday. Anthropic, founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, promotes itself as a company focused on safety in AI development. Its main product is the Claude family of AI models.
Major tech companies, including Amazon, Meta, and Elon Musk’s xAI, have also been pouring billions into artificial intelligence since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022. Nvidia has become central to this growth, as its GPUs — originally designed for gaming — are now essential for training AI systems. Companies across the tech industry are competing to acquire these chips for data centers and AI projects.
Concerns about an AI bubble have grown among Wall Street analysts. Nvidia, which is currently the world’s most valuable company by market capitalisation, saw its stock dip slightly during a broader tech market sell-off. Microsoft shares also fell by about 2.5 percent.
The new funding round values Anthropic at $350 billion, placing it among the world’s most valuable companies. In comparison, OpenAI was recently valued at $500 billion.
The investment surge follows Nvidia’s announcement last month that it would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI to support the development of new generations of AI technology.
OpenAI has also pursued a series of major partnerships. It recently signed a $38 billion deal with Amazon’s AWS cloud division and has expanded its collaborations with Oracle, Broadcom, and AMD.
Nvidia has also been engaged in further deal-making. It announced a $5 billion investment in Intel, a move supported by the White House. The investment is seen as a major boost to Intel’s efforts to recover in the chip market.