LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence

startup Anthropic, which is backed by Alphabet's

Google and Amazon.com ( AMZN ), said it would release its

generative AI chatbot Claude across Europe on Tuesday.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Anthropic's Claude is a direct competitor to

Microsoft ( MSFT )-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT, the chatbot that

broke records when it reached 100 million monthly active users

just two months after launch.

While the Claude chatbot was already freely available online

in a number of countries, this is the first time it has been

made available via the web and iPhones across the European

Union, as well as a handful of non-EU countries in Europe such

as Switzerland and Iceland.

European business customers will also be able to access the

"Claude Team" plan, which will cost 28 euros ($30.21) per month

before value-added tax.

CONTEXT

Anthropic was set up by former executives at OpenAI and

siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei.

Earlier this month, the firm jumped into the race to capture

corporate dollars, launching a version of its chatbot aimed at

businesses. The move could yet bring it into competition with

its backers Amazon ( AMZN ) and Google, who likewise want to capture

business spending on AI.

KEY QUOTE

"Millions of people worldwide are already using Claude to do

things like accelerate scientific processes, enhance customer

service or refine their writing. I look forward to seeing what

people and businesses across Europe create with Claude," said

Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder at Anthropic.

($1 = 0.9270 euros)