Krishna Rao says compute is lifeblood as Anthropic eyes IPO
Krishna Rao, Anthropic's CFO, shared that computing power is absolutely essential for the company as it ramps up toward a possible IPO, after reaching a valuation of around $90 billion.
He explained on a podcast how this tech fuels everything it does, both inside and out, and why scaling up fast is key right now.
Anthropic adopts Trainium, signs 5GW deal
Anthropic started with third-generation TPUs but now uses Amazon's Trainium chips, part of a huge $100 billion investment plan.
It has also signed a major 5-gigawatt deal with Google and Broadcom to supercharge its computing from 2027.
Rao called this move "Look, the compute that we procure is the lifeblood of our business. It is the most important thing in the company. It is the canvas on which everything else gets built. And so the decisions we make on how much compute to buy are some of the most consequential and hardest decisions to make in the entire company."
Rao balances AI promise and risks
Rao talked about how AI could change fields like healthcare, but reminded listeners about risks that come with rapid progress.
He said, "I think on the other side though, we do, and this is again cultural to us, like we do want to articulate the risks. I don't think we should just tell everyone everything is going to be great because there are likely to be bumps on the road."
He also shared a personal story about his brother's selflessness, showing how his values shape Anthropic's approach.