Startup News: Alphabet’s Google invests in ChatGPT’s rival Anthropic
Alphabet’s Google Invests in ChatGPT’s Rival Anthropic
In recent months, generative artificial intelligence has become arguably tech’s hottest sector.
The release of ChatGPT by startup OpenAI late last year has captured the attention of the world. And several leading public and private companies including Microsoft and business-travel software startup TripActions have partnered with OpenAI to upgrade and modernize their offerings with the help of ChatGPT, which is capable of performing tasks once reserved for humans.
Meanwhile, the potential promise of generative AI has triggered a flood of investment dollars for OpenAI competitors seeking to create other chatbots that exceed the capabilities of ChatGPT according to a recent article in Bloomberg.
For example, Bloomberg reported that Alphabet Inc.’s Google has invested almost $400 million in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, which is testing a rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT named “Claude,” according to a person familiar with the deal. The deal reportedly would give Google a stake in Anthropic, said the person who asked not to be identified because the terms were confidential. Google and Anthropic declined to comment on the investment according to Bloomberg, but separately announced a partnership in which Anthropic will use Google’s cloud computing services.
TripActions, Microsoft Integrate ChatGPT Into Their Technology
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that TripActions, a business-travel software startup that was valued at $9.2 billion in October, plans to integrate ChatGPT capabilities across its online platform in an effort aimed at seizing market share by making expense reports easier to use. As part of the move, Palo Alto, Calif.-based TripActions is changing its name to Navan, while consolidating its travel, corporate card and expense services into a single app with ChatGPT capabilities built in. “The platform’s chatbot will be able to learn a users’ preferred airlines, hotels and restaurants, and incorporate these options into a proposed itinerary, while leveraging natural-language models to respond to voice commands,” the Journal reported.
And Microsoft announced last week that it is using ChatGPT to improve its Bing search engine. According to CNBC, Bing is “getting a large update that allows you to chat with it to get more detailed answers to search queries. You can ask Bing to plan a trip, for example, and then ask it how much that trip will cost.’’
In January, Microsoft made a $10 billion investment in OpenAI.
About the Author
John Kimelman is a veteran journalist who has worked at Barron’s and CNBC covering such topics as investing and commercial banking. Mr. Kimelman has received compensation from Forge Global, Inc. for authoring this article. Read more from John.