Amazon Shifts Anthropic AI Billing to Token Model, Disputing Higher Cost Claims
AMZN•Amazon will switch its Anthropic AI billing from compute-hour charges to a token-based pricing model beginning next year, a change it says will not raise costs. The cloud giant uses Anthropic’s Claude models across Alexa, Kiro and Quick, and has invested $4 billion plus up to $25 billion more in the startup.
1. Billing Model Shift
Amazon will switch its Anthropic AI billing from compute-hour charges to a token-based model starting next year, with fees based on AI usage tokens rather than compute time metrics.
2. Cost Implications and Dispute
Amazon asserts that the new token-based pricing will not increase its costs, disputing claims that the change could raise expenses for using Claude models under its partnership.
3. Strategic Partnership Details
Since 2023, Amazon has invested $4 billion in Anthropic and agreed to invest up to $25 billion more, making AWS its primary cloud provider and Anthropic’s custom chips its training platform, and uses Claude across Alexa, Kiro and Quick.
