The Battle for AGI: Inside the Race Between OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic to Build Artificial General Intelligence

Why the Race for AGI Has Shifted into Overdrive

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Artificial Intelligence transformed rapidly from a niche research field to the epicenter of technological and financial attention.

In 2024 alone, AI-related venture capital deals made up nearly half—precisely 46.4%—of total global deal activity according to Open MIC data. This unprecedented capital influx signals an intense belief that AI, and AGI in particular, is destined to redefine competitive advantage.

Yet, this hypergrowth doesn't come without complexity. The U.S. government, faced with the dizzying pace of AI advancement, doubled its AI-focused regulations in 2024, introducing 59 new measures, more than twice the amount from the year prior (Stanford’s 2025 AI Index). This regulatory surge underscores the challenge of balancing innovation acceleration with the imperative to keep AI safe, accountable, and beneficial.

In the professional world, AI integration is near-ubiquitous. The State of AI Report 2025 reveals that 95% of AI experts actively engage with AI tools in their daily work, with 76% even investing their own money into subscriptions. AI’s presence is no longer peripheral—it’s woven into everyday workflows, edging us steadily toward what OpenAI terms “highly autonomous systems outperforming humans at most economically valuable tasks.’ This collective momentum makes industry consensus stark: leading voices from Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis to Anthropic’s Dario Amodei suggest AGI may arrive within five to ten years, some even expecting early versions by 2026.

The Contenders: Differing Paths Toward the Same Summit

Though they share the AGI ambition, OpenAI, DeepMind, and Anthropic each carve distinctive routes shaped by culture, strategy, and priorities.