Major deal in the AI world: Is Anthropic acquiring a robotics startup?

The competition between Anthropic and OpenAI, both vying for leadership in the AI market, is reaching a new level. In recent days, reports have circulated widely in the tech world that Anthropic is set to acquire Physical Intelligence, one of the most promising startups in the field of robotics. Although the parties have not officially confirmed this information, it is assumed that serious strategic plans lie behind these rumors. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports .

Physical Intelligence is no ordinary project. It was founded by prominent investor Lachy Groom and former researchers from Google, Stanford, and Berkeley. The company has developed the π0.5 (pi-zero-point-five) universal model for robots, which is considered one of the most widely used "brain" systems in robotics. The startup has already raised over $1 billion in investment and is valued at $11 billion.

According to The Information, representatives from Anthropic and Physical Intelligence held acquisition talks this spring. This indicates that the rumors spread by tech blogger Robert Scoble are not entirely baseless. While Anthropic has made four major acquisitions this year alone, OpenAI has integrated 17 different startups since 2023.

Why robotics specifically?

Experts believe that working only with internet text is insufficient to create true "superintelligence." AI must understand the physical world, physical laws, and movement. OpenAI has already revived its "OpenAI Robotics" lab and aims to create a personal robot for everyone in the future.

Anthropic does not yet have its own hardware lab, but the company has been conducting successful research on controlling robots using its Claude model. For example, under the Project Fetch initiative, non-expert users learned to program robot dogs using Claude. Acquiring a ready-made team like Physical Intelligence would allow Anthropic to bypass years of robotics research and achieve immediate results.

It is also worth noting that both giants, Anthropic and OpenAI, are currently preparing for an IPO. Anthropic filed a confidential IPO application in early June. Such major acquisitions serve to increase the companies' market value and expand their capabilities in the eyes of investors.

However, there are some complexities in the deal. Among the investors in the Physical Intelligence startup are funds like Khosla Ventures and Thrive Capital, which support the OpenAI project. This could lead to a conflict of interest. Nevertheless, if Anthropic decides to connect its Claude model to the physical world, it will mark a new era in the evolution of AI.