FOMO may be one of the things driving the super rich to invest tens of billions in AI

• Investors are dumping money into AI as they grapple with the fear of missing out.
• Amazon may invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic, an AI rival of OpenAI.

The fear of missing out is real — even among the mega-rich.

Wealthy investors are jumping on the AI train because they don't want to miss out on the next big thing.

Amazon recently said it would invest as much as $4 billion in Anthropic, an AI rival of the well-known OpenAI. In September, Amazon invested $1.25 billion and then more than doubled that with its latest $2.75 billion infusion.

In total, investors have dumped almost $30 billion into the industry in 691 deals in 2023, PitchBook reported. Artificial intelligence startups snatched 1 in 3 investment dollars in 2023, according to Reuters.

Along with venture capitalists, technology companies were among the top investors, Fred Havemeyer, a leader of AI research at the financial services group Macquarie Group Limited, told CNBC.

"They definitely don't want to miss out on being part of the AI ecosystem," Havemeyer said. "I definitely think that there's FOMO in this marketplace."

The influx of cash demonstrates that the hype around generative AI is real. Bill Gates predicted artificial intelligence would be as "revolutionary as mobile phones and the internet," and it seems investors are betting on that.

But that doesn't mean the road ahead will be smooth. Despite being lucrative opportunities at the moment, AI companies have had their share of struggles with leadership shake-ups and widespread consumer fears that the tech will upend employment in the coming years.