Anthropic, Blackstone bet the next trillion-dollar AI business is implementation

15 days ago

AI labs like Anthropic and OpenAI are establishing dedicated businesses to help enterprises implement AI models, seeing this as a potential trillion-dollar opportunity.
Anthropic launched Ode, a $1.5-billion AI implementation company, as a joint venture with Blackstone and others, following a similar move by OpenAI with The Deployment Company.
Ode was formed after Blackstone identified a gap in AI services, acquiring boutique firm Fractional AI to serve as its foundation, aiming to be a 'scaled boutique' AI services firm.
Ode's CEO envisions it becoming a trillion-dollar company by focusing on hyper-growth without compromising quality, targeting enterprises where AI implementation is a top CEO priority.
The company employs 100 engineers and works closely with Anthropic's applied AI team, adopting a 'Claude-first' principle while also using rival AI products if needed.
Ode's key differentiator is its quality of implementation and ability to build custom solutions, emphasizing that model selection is just one ingredient in a larger engineered system.
The team is described as elite generalist software engineers, many former founders, capable of handling technical challenges end-to-end, akin to 'special forces' rather than a large army.
Despite high demand for such talent, Ode faces challenges in scaling while maintaining quality, competing with OpenAI's The Deployment Company and consulting giants like Deloitte and Accenture.
The future success of AI in enterprises may hinge not just on model quality but on effectively deploying AI within large companies, with Ode betting on its boutique approach to meet this need.

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Anthropic, Blackstone bet the next trillion-dollar AI business is implementation