Amazon Invests Another $4B in Anthropic, Adds Program for Quantum Computing

After investing $4 billion in Anthropic last September, Amazon is putting another $4 billion into the AI startup. As part of the deal, Anthropic will use Trainium and Inferentia AI chips from Amazon Web Services (AWS) for training its future AI models.

Despite the large investment, Amazon will remain a minority shareholder in the startup. While Anthropic does use Google Cloud Services in certain applications, AWS is the AI company’s primary cloud partner.

“We’re looking forward to working with Amazon to train and power our most advanced AI models using AWS Trainium and helping to unlock the full potential of their technology,” said Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.

Anthropic was created by two former OpenAI executives, Dario and Daniela Amodei. Last summer, John Schulman, an OpenAI co-founder, left the AI pioneer to join his colleagues at Anthropic.

Amazon Web Services Announces Quantum Embark

AWS is also looking to lead the way in quantum computing. The cloud company just launched an advisory program named Quantum Embark. Simply put, the advanced technology utilizes quantum mechanics to work on problems beyond the capabilities of typical computers.

Built on AWS’s current quantum-computing service, Amazon Braket, the Quantum Embark program is a series of learning modules designed to help users build knowledge about quantum computing. The modules will be suitable for any business organization regardless of quantum readiness.

The first workshop, Use Case Discovery, gives an introduction to the technology. In addition, it teaches users to identify and solve various business problems with quantum computing. Technical Enablement, another learning module, shows how quantum computers make calculations. The Deep Dive module zeroes in on more targeted applications for the technology.

“This program is designed to empower customers to work backwards from their most business-critical and compute intensive use cases, develop an understanding of the state of the art, pinpoint relevant quantum technologies to focus on, and ultimately make informed decisions about future resourcing and their long-term quantum roadmap,” stated AWS.

Customers will get access to Quantum Embark through Braket without any long-term commitments or contracts. Pricing has not been announced, but the program is slated for availability within the next few weeks.