OpenAI and Anthropic are taking the enterprise AI fight to the next stage: actually getting models into businesses. The two rivals are each setting up joint ventures with private equity firms to buy the engineering and consulting outfits that help customers deploy AI.
OpenAI's new entity, "The Deployment Company," is raising about $4 billion from investors, with three M&A deals already in late-stage talks. The joint venture is expected to be officially announced this week. Anthropic, meanwhile, is raising roughly $1.5 billion in similar funding. Together, that adds up to about $5.5 billion. Both AI companies plan to use these acquisitions to bring in hundreds of engineers and consultants who will work directly with enterprise clients on AI deployment.