Nvidia and AI startup Anthropic recently got into a very public spat over U.S. export controls on artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Each company shared their unique perspective on what these policies mean for their business and the industry as a whole. Anthropic, which reached a $61.5 billion valuation following a recent funding round led by Amazon, underscores just how essential access to compute is becoming in the race for advanced frontier AI capabilities. At the same time, Nvidia has rejected aspects of Anthropic’s allegations as overstated.
Anthropic’s AI technology is currently powering Amazon’s most advanced features in its Alexa voice service. The company listed its reliance on Nvidia hardware to train its AI models, which need extreme computational power. Due to this, Anthropic’s growth and day-to-day operations are heavily influenced by the availability of advanced AI chips.
Anthropic has made a courageous decision in publicly advocating for tighter restrictions on AI chip exports. The company contends that these limitations are necessary to protect America’s technological superiority. The company argues that export controls are vital to national security and economic prosperity. This position foreshadows the present day scrutiny of Nvidia’s subsequent exports to China. The U.S. government has further imposed restrictions that would restrict chip availability for these companies, such as Anthropic.
Anthropic’s plea for stricter controls poses a potential conflict with Nvidia’s overseas sales and revenue from chip sales. The U.S. is preparing to implement additional chip export restrictions on May 15. The long-term effects on both companies remain uncertain.
Even as this litigation roils, Nvidia has publicly attacked Anthropic’s position, calling some of its arguments “tall tales.” A spokesperson for Nvidia stated, “American firms should focus on innovation and rise to the challenge, rather than tell tall tales that large, heavy, and sensitive electronics are somehow smuggled in ‘baby bumps’ or ‘alongside live lobsters.’”
Competitiveness is what allows U.S. companies to compete. They cautioned, America can’t rely on regulatory sleight of hand to retain its leadership in AI. “China, with half of the world’s AI researchers, has highly capable AI experts at every layer of the AI stack,” they said.
Following the public tit for tat, Anthropic pledged to strengthen its security protections against harmful use of AI models. They want to guarantee stakeholders that they are developing AI with privacy, security, and data management in mind. Yet the company is boldly charting a difficult course. It aims to encourage tougher chip export rules, but that would be at odds with its dependence on Nvidia’s technology.
The tension only escalates between these two important actors in the AI space. Both companies now face critical questions about the ultimate course of AI development, our national security, and the competitive landscape winners and losers defined by this new set of export controls.