TLDR: Amazon’s stock experienced a significant rise following a new funding round for AI startup Anthropic, which boosted its valuation to $183 billion. This development is expected to substantially benefit Amazon Web Services (AWS) as Anthropic relies heavily on AWS infrastructure and Amazon’s proprietary AI chips for its generative AI models, signaling strong future revenue opportunities for the tech giant’s cloud division.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) stock saw a notable surge in early trading on September 4, 2025, with shares climbing between 2.9% and over 4% in the morning session. The stock was trading around $233.92, marking a 3.5% increase from its previous close. This positive movement contributes to Amazon’s year-to-date gain of over 6% and positions it close to its 52-week high of $242.06, reached in February 2025.
The primary catalyst for this rally is the successful completion of a new funding round by artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic, which propelled its valuation to an impressive $183 billion. This valuation is nearly triple its worth from March, underscoring the rapid growth and investor confidence in the generative AI sector. Amazon holds a substantial stake in Anthropic, estimated to be between 15% and 19%, and has invested a total of $8 billion in the company, including an additional $4 billion commitment made last November.
Analysts are largely optimistic about the implications of Anthropic’s success for Amazon. The increased valuation of Anthropic directly enhances the value of Amazon’s investment. More significantly, it is anticipated to drive substantial new business to Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s highly profitable cloud computing division. Anthropic, known for developing the Claude family of generative AI models, predominantly trains its models on AWS infrastructure. This includes leveraging Amazon’s in-house Trainium and Inferentia chips for both training and inference workloads.
Roth Capital Partners analysts, who maintain a ‘Buy’ rating on Amazon stock, project that Anthropic could spend as much as $5 billion on AWS in 2026. Barclays analyst Ross Sandler echoed this sentiment, noting in a recent report that AWS could experience a ‘meaningful uplift’ from Anthropic by the fourth quarter, particularly if the startup initiates pre-training for its upcoming Claude 5 model during that period. Wall Street analysts collectively set an average one-year price target for Amazon at $262.74, suggesting a potential upside of 12.44% from current levels.
Beyond the AI-driven growth, Amazon also announced other positive business developments. These include a new partnership for its Project Kuiper satellite technology, with JetBlue slated to be the first airline to utilize its in-flight Wi-Fi service starting in 2027. The company is also expanding its same-day grocery delivery business. However, analysts largely agree that the deepening ties with Anthropic represent the most significant revenue opportunity for Amazon.
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The broader market context on September 4 also played a role in investor sentiment. A weaker-than-expected ADP private employment report, which showed only 54,000 jobs added in August against an anticipated 75,000, fueled expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in September. This, along with rising Treasury yields and September’s historically weak track record for stocks, contributed to a cautious yet responsive market environment.
