How much early backers of Anthropic stand to gain before the stock market debut

The financial landscape for artificial intelligence is shifting rapidly as one of the sector's most prominent labs prepares for a major market entry.

Anthropic is expected to list publicly this year with a valuation that could reach as high as two trillion dollars. Even before that final number is set, the company's most recent private valuation stands at 965 billion dollars. At this price point, the stakes held by various venture capitalists and early supporters already amount to billions of dollars.

Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive of Google, made an early bet on the company in 2021. He participated in the Series A round when the startup was valued at 461 million dollars. Data from PitchBook indicates that Schmidt currently owns approximately one percent of the company. At the current private valuation, his share is valued at nearly 10 billion dollars.

Iconiq Capital took a significant late-stage position in the company last year. The firm invested 6 billion dollars when Anthropic was already valued at 183 billion dollars. That substantial investment is now worth 17 billion dollars and has the potential to double in value once the initial public offering takes place.

Menlo Ventures has been a long-term supporter, leading the Series D round and investing over 1 billion dollars in total. This accumulated stake is currently valued at 14 billion dollars. Meanwhile, Sequoia Capital entered the picture earlier this year. The firm invested 3 billion dollars when the company's valuation was 380 billion dollars, securing about one percent ownership. This move has already more than doubled the firm's initial investment.

Sound Ventures, which was launched by Guy Oseary and actor Ashton Kutcher, also has a significant presence in the company. The firm put 35 million dollars into the 2023 Series C round and has since added another 400 million dollars to its stake. That position is now worth billions of dollars. It is noted that Kutcher left Sound Ventures earlier this year to start a new venture capital firm.

Spark Capital holds a unique position as the only venture capital firm known to have a board seat at Anthropic. The firm invested 75 million dollars in the 2023 Series C round when the company was valued at 5 billion dollars. That specific investment has grown by more than ninety times to reach a value of 7 billion dollars.

These figures highlight the massive potential windfall for investors who joined the company at various stages of its growth. As the public listing approaches, these early and late-stage backers are positioned to see substantial returns on their capital.