Google has been reported to hold 14% equity in Anthropic, an artificial intelligence (AI) corporation considered a rival to OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT.
Anthropic's AI model "Claude" is among the most widely used AIs globally, alongside OpenAI's ChatGPT, and has received billions of dollars in investments from Google and Amazon.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 11th that Google holds 14% equity in Anthropic based on documents submitted by Anthropic to the court.
According to the documents, Google can own up to 15% of Anthropic's equity. Anthropic claimed that while Google holds more than 10% equity, it does not have control over the company. It also does not possess voting rights, board seats, or observer rights.
If Google invests an additional $750 million in Anthropic in the form of convertible bonds this September, the total investment will exceed $3 billion, yet its equity will not exceed 15%.
Google's equity status in Anthropic was revealed during the U.S. Department of Justice's ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Google.
Currently, the U.S. Department of Justice believes that Google illegally monopolizes the online search market. A U.S. court judged that Google illegally dominates the search market in the antitrust lawsuit filed by the Justice Department last August.
Consequently, the Justice Department proposed corporate partitioning measures to dissolve the monopoly, including the forced sale of Google's web browser, Chrome, last November.
It also argued for the sale of any AI investment equity that could compete with Google Search. This included investments in Anthropic. As competition among big tech companies in AI intensifies, Google is developing its own technology while investing substantial funds in AI startups.
In response, Anthropic recently submitted a document to the court stating, "Google should not be forced to sell its equity," and claimed that "forcible sale of equity will undermine the market value and capital-raising ability of startups, leading to serious damage."
However, under the Donald Trump administration, the Justice Department recently withdrew its original stance and instead required Google to notify authorities before investing in new AI startups.
Meanwhile, the world's largest e-commerce company, Amazon, has been investing more than $8 billion in Anthropic. However, the extent of its equity ownership remains undisclosed.
Anthropic is currently in the process of raising $3.5 billion (5 trillion won) in investments, with its corporate value evaluated at $61.5 billion (88 trillion won).
Despite receiving substantial funding from Google and Amazon, Anthropic is using the AI chips and cloud computing services of these corporations.