Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic is reportedly in advanced talks to raise $2 billion in a funding round that would value it at $60 billion.
The $60 billion valuation would include the money the company plans to raise in the round, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Tuesday (Jan. 7), citing unnamed sources.
Anthropic did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.
The reported valuation would also be an increase from the $18 billion at which the company was valued in a 2024 funding round and would make Anthropic the fifth-most valuable U.S. startup, according to the WSJ report.
Anthropic’s annualized revenue recently reached $875 million, per the report.
Other AI companies have seen their valuations increase in recent months amid growing investor confidence that the technology could revolutionize industries and create new opportunities, PYMNTS reported Oct. 3.
OpenAI said Oct. 2 that it raised $6.6 billion in a funding round that valued it at $157 billion. The ChatGPT creator said it planned to use the capital to boost its leadership in frontier AI research, expand computational capacity and enhance its suite of problem-solving tools.
It was reported Nov. 20 that xAI, Elon Musk’s AI startup, raised $5 billion in a funding round that valued it at $50 billion — up from the $24 billion at which it was valued in spring 2024. The company said it planned to use the money to add another 100,000 Nvidia chips for training its AI models.
Another AI startup, Perplexity AI, reportedly closed a $500 million funding round in December that tripled its valuation to $9 billion. Perplexity AI started 2024 with a valuation of $520 million.
Anthropic’s backers include Amazon, which invested another $4 billion in the AI startup in November after making an initial investment of $4 billion in it in September 2023.
Amazon said in a Nov. 22 press release that millions of end users and tens of thousands of customers — including startups, enterprises and government institutions — were using Anthropic’s Claude in Amazon Bedrock.
“The response from [Amazon Web Services (AWS)] customers who are developing generative AI applications powered by Anthropic in Amazon Bedrock has been remarkable,” AWS CEO Matt Garman said in the release.
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We get a lot of press releases here at PYMNTS. We consider all of them, and some are more newsworthy than others. But this one really got our attention. This past week, Diebold Nixdorf made headlines with its announcement of successfully installing two new automated teller machines (ATMs) at the U.S. National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station in Antarctica. This achievement marks a significant milestone in banking accessibility, to be sure. We would like to meet the crew that installed them. We’d also like to know why they needed two. Was there a line at the first one? More to come on that.
According to Diebold, McMurdo Station is Antarctica’s largest research and logistics hub, supporting a fluctuating population that ranges from fewer than 200 residents during the winter months to up to 1,100 individuals during the summer (October through February). The presence of these ATMs is crucial, it says, as the next closest banking facilities are thousands of miles away, making them the only ATMs on the entire continent. How’s that for a value proposition?
The DN Series ATMs are designed for always-on availability. And why do they need two? One ATM is actively in use, while the second serves as a backup for spare parts, ensuring uninterrupted service in this isolated area. These machines are connected to the DN AllConnect Data Engine, which leverages Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor their performance. A dedicated team continuously aggregates and analyzes technical data to identify potential issues, enabling remote diagnostics and repairs. The ATM can be maintained by trained staff at NSF McMurdo Station, or the Diebold Nixdorf service team can remotely guide them through the repair process.
Anyway, it got us thinking. Are there other surprising ATMs in extreme locations? Well, of course, there are. Here’s a sampling of what we found.
At an altitude of about 5,364 meters (17,600 feet), the Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal is another unexpected place to find an ATM. Although it’s not a permanent fixture and is often set up seasonally, it caters to climbers and trekkers who need cash for local transactions. This temporary ATM service underscores the adaptability of banking services in extreme environments.
In some parts of the Amazon rainforest, particularly in Brazil and Peru, ATMs can be found in small villages and towns. These machines are vital for local communities, providing access to cash in areas where digital payment options might be limited. The presence of ATMs here demonstrates how banking services can reach even the most remote communities.
Located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Nagqu is home to one of the highest ATMs in the world. This region is very remote, with limited infrastructure, making the presence of an ATM a notable example of banking accessibility in extreme environments.
In the Thousand Islands (Kepulauan Seribu) off the coast of Jakarta, Indonesia, there’s a floating ATM. This unique ATM serves the local community and tourists on the islands, demonstrating how banking services can adapt to isolated marine environments.
Longyearbyen, the administrative center of the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, boasts the most northerly ATM. This location is one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth, with limited access to mainland Norway, making the ATM a vital service for residents and visitors.
On a more serious note, the installation of ATMs in places like Antarctica and other remote locations highlights the evolving nature of banking technology. With advancements in IoT, AI and remote diagnostics, it’s becoming increasingly feasible to provide banking services in areas previously considered inaccessible. As we look to the future, it will be interesting to see where else ATMs might appear. Whether it’s on a remote island, at the top of a mountain or even in space, the ability to access cash is becoming more universal than ever. And who knows? Maybe one day, we’ll see an ATM on Mars, serving the first interplanetary travelers.
For now, the presence of ATMs in unexpected places reminds us that banking is not just about transactions; it’s about connecting people and communities across the globe, no matter how remote they might be.
