Anthropic’s Early Investors Ride Toward a Historic IPO Windfall

The artificial intelligence race is about to produce one of the most significant financial events in recent corporate history.

The path to a public listing has been a rapid ascent for Anthropic, moving from a startup valuation of $461 million in 2021 to a private market value of $965 billion. While the company is expected to go public this year with a potential valuation of $2 trillion, the financial gains for its earliest supporters have already materialized in the private markets. These early-stage and later-stage investors hold stakes that currently total billions of dollars, a figure that could double once the initial public offering is completed.

Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO, was among the first to recognize the potential of the AI lab. He invested in the Series A round in 2021, when the company was valued at just over half a billion dollars. Today, Schmidt’s ownership sits at approximately 1% of the company. At the current private valuation, his position is worth nearly $10 billion, a testament to the explosive growth of the sector over the last few years.

Late-stage investors have also seen substantial returns, though their entry points were significantly higher. Iconiq, an investment firm, committed $6 billion to Anthropic last year when the valuation stood at $183 billion. That massive bet is now valued at $17 billion. Similarly, Menlo Ventures, which led the Series D round, has invested more than $1 billion in total. Their stake is currently worth $14 billion, reflecting the consistent appreciation of the company’s value across multiple funding rounds.

Newer entrants to the cap table have also secured significant upside. Sequoia, a prominent venture capital firm, made its first investment in Anthropic earlier this year. At that time, the company was already valued at $380 billion. Sequoia’s $3 billion investment secured roughly 1% ownership, meaning the firm has already more than doubled its initial outlay. This highlights how even late-stage entry points offer substantial returns in the current AI landscape.

Sound Ventures, a firm co-founded by Guy Oseary and actor Ashton Kutcher, has been a persistent backer since the 2023 Series C round. They initially invested $35 million and have since added another $400 million to their position. This sustained commitment has resulted in a stake now worth billions. Notably, Kutcher departed Sound Ventures this year to launch his own venture capital firm, but the original investment remains a key part of the company’s financial history.

Perhaps the most dramatic multiplier in the group belongs to Spark Capital. The firm, which is known to hold a board seat at Anthropic, invested $75 million in the 2023 Series C round when the valuation was $5 billion. That initial position has ballooned more than ninetyfold, reaching a value of $7 billion today. This trajectory underscores the sheer speed at which value has been created in the AI sector.

As Anthropic moves closer to its expected public listing, the focus will shift from private valuations to public market performance. However, the current figures demonstrate that the wealth creation has already begun for those who backed the company early and often. With a potential $2 trillion valuation on the horizon, these investors are poised to see their stakes grow even further, cementing their status as major beneficiaries of the AI revolution.