Why a $965 Billion Valuation Makes Early Anthropic Investors Billions

Anthropic, one of the leading developers of large language models, is on track to go public later this year. The company is expected to list at a valuation of up to $2 trillion. Even before that public listing occurs, the math of its current private market valuation of $965 billion has already created a significant windfall for the venture capitalists and early backers who put money into the firm years ago.

The timeline of Anthropic’s growth shows how quickly the stakes have risen for its investors. The company began as a startup with a much lower profile and has since attracted billions in funding. Today, the value of the shares held by various investors totals billions of dollars. This growth trajectory highlights the high-risk, high-reward nature of betting on artificial intelligence companies during their early stages.

Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive officer of Google, is among the earliest beneficiaries of this growth. He invested in Anthropic’s Series A round in 2021. At that time, PitchBook data indicates the startup was valued at $461 million. Schmidt’s initial investment has since grown, and he now owns approximately 1% of the company. At the current private valuation, his stake is worth nearly $10 billion.

Later-stage investors have also seen substantial returns, though they entered the market at higher price points. Iconiq, an investment firm, wrote a check for $6 billion to Anthropic last year. By that point, the company was already valued at $183 billion. That massive late-stage bet is now valued at $17 billion. If the IPO proceeds as expected, this investment has the potential to double in value.

Menlo Ventures played a significant role in the company’s capital structure by leading the Series D round. The firm has invested more than $1 billion in Anthropic over time. Their current stake in the company is valued at $14 billion. This figure reflects the company’s rapid appreciation since those initial investments were made.

Sequoia, a well-known venture capital firm, entered the picture more recently. They backed the AI lab for the first time earlier this year. At that time, the company was valued at $380 billion. Sequoia invested $3 billion, which gave them about 1% ownership of the firm. Consequently, their investment has already more than doubled in value since it was made.

Sound Ventures, which was launched by Guy Oseary and actor Ashton Kutcher, has also built a significant position in Anthropic. The firm invested $35 million in the 2023 Series C round. Since then, they have funneled an additional $400 million into the company. This combined investment has resulted in a stake that is now worth billions of dollars. It is worth noting that Kutcher left Sound Ventures earlier this year to launch his own new venture capital firm.

Spark Capital holds a unique position among the investors as the only venture capital firm known to hold a board seat at Anthropic. They invested $75 million in the same 2023 Series C round. At that time, the company was valued at $5 billion. That initial position has ballooned more than ninetyfold to reach a current value of $7 billion. This represents one of the most dramatic increases in value for any single investor listed in the recent reports.

Looking ahead, the focus will shift to the public offering. The IPO is expected to occur this year, with a target valuation of as much as $2 trillion. If the company achieves that figure, the stakes held by these investors will increase further. The transition from private to public markets will provide liquidity for these early and later-stage backers. For now, the private market valuation of $965 billion already secures billions in gains for those who took a chance on Anthropic’s technology.