OpenAI and Anthropic are in talks to acquire AI services firms through newly formed joint ventures, according to Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter. The companies are looking to incorporate hundreds of engineers and consultants to help corporate clients put their AI models to work, five of the people said.
OpenAI’s venture is in advanced stages on three deals, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. This initiative, named The Deployment Company, has secured more than $4 billion from 19 investors including TPG Inc (NASDAQ:TPG), Brookfield Asset Management Inc (NYSE:BAM), Advent, and Bain Capital, Bloomberg reported Monday.
The transaction values the new entity at $10 billion, excluding the newly raised capital. OpenAI will maintain majority ownership and operational control over the venture, which also counts SoftBank Group Corp. among its backers.
Anthropic has secured $1.5 billion for its own joint venture alongside a consortium of Wall Street institutions. Blackstone Inc (NYSE:BX) and Hellman & Friedman are leading the initiative to deploy AI across their investment portfolios, Blackstone announced Monday.
The consulting entity will receive initial $300 million investments from each of the three lead firms. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and General Atlantic will also commit $150 million apiece to the project, the release stated.
The joint ventures represent a shift as AI leaders move to expand engineering capacity for model deployment. Most of the capital raised is expected to fund acquisitions of engineering and consulting firms, the people said.
The acquisitions mark a new front in the competition for market share between the two rivals. While both have focused on building powerful models, deploying them at scale requires a different kind of expertise they are now looking to buy.
The primary objective of these entities is to open new commercial markets for AI technologies. This transition signals that the AI race is expanding from pure model development to practical, large-scale implementation.
