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Amazon Doubles Down on AI Startup Anthropic with $4 bln Investment

The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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Amazon Doubles Down on AI Startup Anthropic with $4 bln Investment

The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
The logo of Amazon is seen on the door of an Amazon Books retail store in New York City, US, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic said on Friday it has raised an additional $4 billion investment from longtime backer Amazon.com, bringing the e-commerce giant's total investment to $8 billion, underscoring Big Tech's growing genAI investments.

Amazon will maintain its position as a minority investor, the company said. Its AWS unit will also be Anthropic's official cloud provider.

Anthropic also said it is working with AWS' Annapurna Labs on the development of future generations of Amazon's Trainium chips and plans to train its foundational models on the hardware, Reuters reported.

Britain's competition regulator had said in September Amazon's partnership with Anthropic will not be referred for a deeper probe as it did not fall under its jurisdiction.

Anthropic, which was co-founded by former OpenAI executives and siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, said last year it had also secured a $500 million investment from Alphabet, which promised to invest another $1.5 billion over time.

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Apple Sales Fall y/y on China's Singles' Day, Huawei Up 7%

FILE PHOTO: A Chinese flag flutters near a Huawei store in Shanghai, China September 8, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Chinese flag flutters near a Huawei store in Shanghai, China September 8, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
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Apple Sales Fall y/y on China's Singles' Day, Huawei Up 7%

FILE PHOTO: A Chinese flag flutters near a Huawei store in Shanghai, China September 8, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Chinese flag flutters near a Huawei store in Shanghai, China September 8, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

Apple sold fewer smartphones during China's Singles' Day shopping festival this year as it faced pressure from an "abnormally high" number of rival handsets launched around the event, Counterpoint Research said on Wednesday.

The iPhone manufacturer saw its sales decline year-on-year by "double digit percentages" from Oct. 18 to Nov. 10, the research consultancy said. In comparison, its main rival in China, Huawei, recorded 7% sales growth, fueled by price cuts on its Pura 70 and Mate 60 models.

Xiaomi also saw sales decline, with volumes falling 6%, Reuters reported.

"To capitalize on one of the biggest sales festivals of the year, major Chinese OEMs (manufacturers) except Huawei launched their latest flagships ahead of the festival," Counterpoint said, describing this as a key reason for Apple's decline. Only Xiaomi did so last year, it noted.

Huawei declined to comment. Apple and Xiaomi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Overall, smartphone sales in China during the event, the country's biggest online shopping festival, fell 9% year-on-year as a slowing economy weighed on consumer enthusiasm despite the promotions, Counterpoint said.

Apple's Singles' Day performance underscores the growing competition it faces in the world's largest smartphone market, especially from Huawei which has come back strongly in the premium segment.

The US tech giant has since responded with multiple discount campaigns to boost sales. Apple's iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max were the festival's best selling models, Counterpoint said.

China's e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba and JD.com did not release sales figures for the festival, having dropped the practice in 2022, but Alibaba said Apple and Xiaomi were among brands that surpassed 1 billion yuan in gross merchandising value.