The capital race in artificial intelligence is reaching new heights. Google has formalized an investment of up to $40 billion in AI safety company Anthropic – a deal that solidifies Google's position as one of the company's heaviest backers, according to TechCrunch.
$10 Billion Now – The Rest Conditional
Structurally, the agreement is twofold: $10 billion is paid immediately, while an additional $30 billion is conditional on Anthropic meeting predefined performance targets. The investment values the company at $350 billion – a valuation consistent with the February 2026 round, when Anthropic raised $30 billion in a Series G round led by GIC and Coatue.
In the secondary market, the numbers tell a different story. According to research data, Anthropic shares are trading at an implied value of around one trillion dollars on platforms like Forge Global – a level that exceeds OpenAI's estimated secondary market valuation of $880 billion.
Computing Capacity as Important as Capital
Money alone isn't the whole picture. A central part of Google's agreement is access to five gigawatts of computing capacity from Google Cloud over the next five years, with the possibility of further expansion. Google's TPU infrastructure is a critical resource for Anthropic, which uses a mix of Amazon Trainium chips, Google TPUs, and NVIDIA GPUs to optimally distribute its workloads.
This reflects a broader trend: for leading AI companies, infrastructure costs now exceed payroll and other operating expenses.
Amazon Remains Primary Partner
Google's multi-billion dollar commitment does not change the fact that Amazon Web Services is Anthropic's primary cloud and training partner. Amazon has committed a total of up to $33 billion to the company, and Anthropic, in turn, has pledged to spend over $100 billion on AWS technology over the next decade. By the end of 2026, nearly one gigawatt of Trainium2 and Trainium3 capacity is expected to come online.
Microsoft and NVIDIA also acquired stakes in January 2026, with approximately $15 billion and $10 billion respectively, both at a valuation of $350 billion.
Mythos and Security Focus in the Background
The investment comes as Anthropic recently made a limited launch of its new model, Mythos, which, according to TechCrunch, is aimed at cybersecurity use and described as particularly powerful. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers, including siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, and has from the outset positioned itself as a company with AI safety as its core focus.
«Our users tell us that Claude is increasingly indispensable to the way they work» — Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic
A Race Without Brakes
The cumulative capital inflow to Anthropic – over $67 billion across 17 funding rounds since 2021 – illustrates the pace of the ongoing investment race in generative AI. Tech giants are competing not only to sell infrastructure but also to secure stakes in the companies shaping the next generation of AI technology. Google's $40 billion commitment is currently the heaviest single pledge in this game.