As Anthropic accelerates its push into corporate and public markets with major contracts with PwC and the Gates Foundation, OpenAI has opened its cutting-edge model to all levels of the U.S. government. The combined AI infrastructure investment from the four major tech companies this year is projected to reach a record $700 billion.
Anthropic Secures Major Contracts with PwC and Gates Foundation
According to the IT industry on May 17, PwC announced it will sequentially deploy its Claude code and Claude CoWork to teams in the U.S., expanding to hundreds of thousands of personnel worldwide. Initially, a certification program for 30,000 experts in the U.S. will be launched, along with the establishment of a joint excellence center. The collaboration will focus on developing software agents, executing AI-based deals, and transforming core business functions such as finance, supply chain, and HR. The reported improvement in delivery to clients could be as high as 70%.
On May 15, Anthropic announced a four-year partnership worth $200 million (approximately 280 billion won) with the Gates Foundation. Anthropic will provide engineering personnel and API credits, while the foundation will handle grants and field expertise. The partnership aims to develop AI tools in health, education, and agriculture, including computational screening for vaccine candidates for neglected diseases like polio and HPV, and building K-12 education platforms in sub-Saharan Africa and India. This deal is four times larger than the $50 million contract signed between OpenAI and the Gates Foundation in January.
OpenAI Opens Advanced Model to All Levels of U.S. Government
OpenAI has opened its advanced AI model to all verification levels of the U.S. government.
Last month, OpenAI launched its cyber defense-focused model, GPT-5.4-Cyber, and expanded its existing Trusted Access Cyber (TAC) program to federal, state, and local governments. This includes small operators of critical infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, and water facilities. Top-level certified users will have access to specialized versions with broader permissions for sensitive tasks like vulnerability research and analysis. OpenAI also hosted hands-on workshops for government representatives from the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and DARPA in Washington, D.C.
At the same time, Microsoft, Google, and xAI signed a pre-launch model evaluation agreement with the AI Standards Innovation Center (CAISI) under the U.S. Department of Commerce. OpenAI and Anthropic also renegotiated their existing partnership in line with the AI action plan from the Trump administration. In contrast, Anthropic is limiting the distribution of its Mythos model to a consortium called Project Glasswing, which consists of about 40 approved agencies.
Big Tech Companies to Invest Up to $700 Billion in AI Infrastructure This Year
The combined capital expenditures (capex) of Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft for 2026 are expected to reach between $630 billion and $700 billion (approximately 880 trillion to 980 trillion won).
Amazon is projected to spend $200 billion, Alphabet between $175 billion and $185 billion, Meta between $115 billion and $135 billion, and Microsoft over $120 billion. This represents an increase of more than 60% compared to 2025. Approximately 75% of this spending will be directly allocated to AI infrastructure, including AI servers, GPUs, and data centers.
Financial pressures are also mounting. Morgan Stanley forecasts that Amazon will record a cash flow deficit of about $17 billion this year. Barclays predicts that Meta's cash flow could decrease by as much as 90%. The four major tech companies have already issued bonds totaling $100 billion this year. Goldman Sachs estimates that the combined capex of hyperscalers will exceed $1.15 trillion over the three years from 2025 to 2027.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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