In the intensifying race within the artificial intelligence sector, tech giants are rapidly aligning their strategies, and Alphabet appears poised to double down once again. According to sources familiar with the matter, Alphabet is in early-stage talks to increase its investment in AI startup Anthropic. This potential deal could push Anthropic's valuation above $350 billion, further escalating its competition with Microsoft-backed OpenAI.

The potential new investment is still under negotiation, with the structure yet to be finalized. Possible options include strategic investments in the form of additional cloud computing services, convertible notes, or a priced funding round early next year.

These discussions highlight the increasingly clear divisions in the AI landscape. Amazon and Alphabet have emerged as key backers of Anthropic, while Microsoft and Nvidia have poured billions into its primary rival, OpenAI. If Alphabet finalizes this investment, it would solidify its central role in the Anthropic camp and send a strong signal to the market about its determination to secure a leading position in this future-defining technology race.

Prior to this, Alphabet had already invested over $3 billion in Anthropic, holding approximately 14% of the company. Anthropic raised $13 billion in a funding round in September this year, valuing the company at $138 billion. The rumored new valuation target suggests that Anthropic's market value could more than double in less than six months.

**AI Giants Take Sides, Cloud Computing Emerges as Key Battleground**

Alphabet's move to increase its investment is closely tied to its strategic positioning in cloud computing. In October, Alphabet and Anthropic announced a multi-billion-dollar cloud computing agreement, allowing Anthropic to use up to one million of Alphabet's custom TPU chips. This deal not only provides Anthropic with substantial computing power but also secures a key AI client for Alphabet Cloud.

However, Anthropic's partnerships are not exclusive. Amazon has also invested $14 billion in Anthropic, and the startup uses AWS's custom Trainium2 chips to build and deploy its AI models. Last month, Anthropic reaffirmed its commitment to "working with our primary training partner and cloud service provider, Amazon." This multi-cloud strategy reflects the flexibility and complexity of leading AI companies in securing vast computing resources.

**Anthropic's Financial Trajectory: High Growth Expectations and Capital Efficiency**

Anthropic recently significantly raised its revenue projections, forecasting $70 billion by 2028—a staggering 182-fold increase from last year. Based on this growth trajectory, its target valuation could reach $300–400 billion.

Compared to OpenAI, Anthropic demonstrates superior capital efficiency. While OpenAI is projected to generate $13 billion in revenue this year, its cash burn is expected to be more than triple that of Anthropic. By 2027, OpenAI is forecasted to consume $35 billion in cash, whereas Anthropic could achieve $3 billion in free cash flow. By 2028, Anthropic may generate up to $17 billion in cash, indicating that its enterprise-focused model could yield higher efficiency.

The company is concentrating on enterprise API sales, which are expected to contribute over 80% of its revenue by 2028. Its programming assistant, Claude Code, has already reached nearly $1 billion in annualized revenue, driving the company's overall annualized revenue close to $7 billion last month.