Illustration: The Verge

The competition between Google and Microsoft over tech’s AI future continues to heat up. While Microsoft is firmly entangled with ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Google may have turned to a company founded by former OpenAI employees: the little-known Anthropic.

According to a report from the Financial Times, in late 2022, Google invested around $300 million in the startup, though the news was not reported at the time. In return for the money, Google got a 10 percent stake in the company, and Anthropic is required to buy cloud computing resources from the search giant, says the FT.

This dynamic is somewhat similar to the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI. There, OpenAI provides the research expertise, while Microsoft supplies not only b…

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