Who are the big 4 of AI?
In AI model development, the Big 4 are OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and Meta. In professional services, the Big 4 are Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG, all of which use AI in audit, tax and advisory work.
The full answer
The phrase "Big 4 of AI" usually means one of two things, depending on whether you are talking about technology and model developers or about accounting and consulting firms.
1. The Big 4 tech and model companies. In model development, the "Big 4" are the giants building foundational models and scaling the AI ecosystem:
- OpenAI: creator of GPT-4 and ChatGPT, known for leading consumer and enterprise generative AI.
- Google (Alphabet): developer of the Gemini model family and DeepMind research.
- Anthropic: creator of the Claude model family, focused heavily on AI safety and enterprise alignment.
- Meta: leader in open-source AI through its LLaMA model series.
Major cloud providers also serve as the infrastructure platforms powering these models: Microsoft (a primary OpenAI partner) and Amazon (through AWS).
2. The Big 4 accounting and consulting firms. In professional services, the "Big 4" are the global accounting networks that have integrated AI into audit, tax and advisory work:
- Deloitte: uses tools like Zora AI and Omnia for automated financial trend analysis and auditing.
- PwC: operates platforms like GL.ai and partners deeply with OpenAI.
- EY (Ernst & Young): built the EY.ai platform and deployed large suites of tax and audit AI agents.
- KPMG: invests heavily in enterprise AI and platforms like Clara through strategic technology partnerships.