Anthropic may have a Demis Hassabis connection, report says Google DeepMind boss was early investor

Demis Hassabis, one of the most influential figures in artificial intelligence, reportedly made an early investment in Anthropic before it became one of the world’s fastest-growing AI startups. According to a Financial Times report citing people familiar with the matter, the previously undisclosed investment reveals how Hassabis’ influence now stretches far beyond Google DeepMind, the AI company he co-founded more than a decade ago.

Today, Anthropic is considered one of the biggest rivals in the AI race, competing directly with companies such as OpenAI and Google’s own Gemini AI efforts.

Hassabis co-founded DeepMind in 2010 with the goal of building artificial intelligence systems inspired by the human brain using artificial neural networks. In its early years, the company became famous for creating AI systems capable of defeating humans in complex board and video games.

The company quickly attracted global attention, leading Google to acquire DeepMind in January 2014 for a reported $500 million to $650 million.

Years later, in April 2023, Google combined the DeepMind team with its Google Brain research division to form the unified AI unit now known as Google DeepMind.

Former DeepMind researchers are building a new AI ecosystem

The report also highlights how former DeepMind employees are now launching a growing number of AI companies across the industry. Since 2021, former DeepMind researchers have reportedly created more than a dozen startups that together have raised at least $14 billion, according to PitchBook and Dealroom data cited in the report.

Some of these companies include Isomorphic Labs, another venture founded by Hassabis, and Ineffable Intelligence, founded by longtime DeepMind collaborator David Silver. Together, the two companies reportedly raised more than $3 billion from investors in the past month alone.

Hassabis has also backed several ventures started by former colleagues. These include Inflection AI, launched by DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman before he joined Microsoft in 2024.

Google is both Anthropic’s rival and one of its biggest partners

Interestingly, Google now has a complex relationship with Anthropic.

On one hand, Anthropic directly competes with Google’s Gemini AI models. On the other hand, Google is also a major infrastructure provider for Anthropic through Google Cloud and its specialised AI chips known as tensor processing units, or TPUs.

In late April, Google reportedly signed a new agreement to invest $10 billion in Anthropic, with an option to invest an additional $40 billion if certain performance targets are met.

The deal came shortly after Anthropic reportedly secured another massive agreement worth $25 billion with Amazon.

As part of its other agreement with Google, Anthropic has reportedly agreed to spend $200 billion over five years on Google Cloud infrastructure. This includes using Google’s servers, computing systems and AI processing capabilities to train and operate its AI models.

The developments show how the AI industry is becoming increasingly interconnected, where companies can simultaneously compete, invest in each other and rely on shared infrastructure to build the next generation of AI systems.