Wow! It’s like I always say: the enterprise AI scene is a wild ride! Just when you think you’ve seen it all, another massive deal drops and shakes things up. Like yesterday’s announcement between Cloud data firm Snowflake and OpenAI, one of the most promising AI startups out there.
So, what’s the big deal? For those who don’t know, Snowflake is partnering with OpenAI to give its 12,600 customers access to OpenAI models across all three major cloud providers. This means Snowflake employees will get to tap into OpenAI’s ChatGPT Enterprise, and the two companies will be working together on some cool new projects. Snowflake’s CEO, Sridhar Ramaswamy, says this partnership is all about giving organizations the power to build and deploy AI on top of their most valuable asset: their data. And, of course, they’ll be using Snowflake’s safe and governed platform to do it.
But wait, there’s more! Snowflake just inked a $200 million deal with AI research lab Anthropic last month, and ServiceNow, a workflow automation platform, partnered with both OpenAI and Anthropic in January. It’s clear that enterprises are looking for choice and flexibility in their AI partnerships.
I chatted with Snowflake’s VP of AI, Baris Gultekin, about this, and he told me, “We’re not locking customers into a single supplier. Enterprises want choice, and we don’t believe in locking customers into a single supplier.” I think that’s a pretty fair point.
So, who’s leading the pack? Honestly, it’s hard to say right now. A recent Menlo Ventures survey found Anthropic had a commanding market lead, while an Andreessen Horowitz report last week put OpenAI on top. But one thing is clear: enterprises are likely to partner with multiple AI players because each offers large language models with different strengths and weaknesses. This could lead to a market where multiple companies coexist, like the ride-hail market where customers switch between Lyft and Uber based on their needs.
Or, of course, there could be a clear winner. But for now, it’s likely we’ll see enterprises signing deals with multiple players as they continue to hunt for where AI can deliver tangible value.
**The Bottom Line**
In short, the enterprise AI landscape is getting more crowded by the day. But one thing is clear: Snowflake’s deal with OpenAI is just the latest sign of a market in flux. As companies continue to innovate and experiment with AI, it’s likely we’ll see even more partnerships and deals in the months to come. Stay tuned, folks!
