Alphabet-backed AI startup Anthropic raises $450 million as funding freeze thaws

Anthropic, an artificial intelligence startup backed by Google parent Alphabet Inc, said on Tuesday it had raised $450 million, in the latest sign of a recovery in the startup funding space.

It takes the company’s valuation to $4 billion with total $1 billion raised in funding to date, according to PitchBook data.

Interest in artificial intelligence has piqued after Anthropic’s rival OpenAI launched ChatGPT last year but the regulators are concerned about the potential use of the technology to spread misinformation.

Anthropic, which was founded by former executives from Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI, said its AI systems are safe because they would not tell users how to build a weapon or use racially biased language.