The Rest Is Money 272. Is Anthropic holding businesses to ransom?
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Apr 22, 2026 
Sebastian Mallaby, author and historian of finance and technology, discusses his book The Infinity Machine about Demis Hassabis and DeepMind. He covers Anthropic’s Mythos and its cyber‑capabilities. He debates restricted access to powerful AI, OpenAI’s finances and culture, the AI race and DeepMind’s sale to Google. He also traces Hassabis’s rise from chess prodigy to scientific leader.
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DeepMind Sale Kickstarted The AI Race
- The AI commercial race intensified after DeepMind became a target for acquisition in 2013–14, with Google ultimately buying it.
- Competing bids from Meta and Elon Musk signalled the strategic value of leading AI labs and triggered the modern tech race.
Acquisition Kept Science In Britain Not Profits
- Selling DeepMind to Google kept the lab in London while bringing sustained R&D funding, trading potential UK profits for large research investment.
- Google poured nearly $1bn per year into London operations, preserving science presence despite losing independent ownership.
OpenAI's Massive Burn Raises Viability Doubts
- OpenAI faces a funding gap: leaked forecasts suggested up to $660 billion burn before profitability, creating doubts about its independent survivability.
- Mallaby cites secondary market discounts and low-paying user ratios as indicators OpenAI may struggle without a buyer like Microsoft.
