Early investors in the AI giant are already billionaires

The upcoming public offering of Anthropic is set to create massive wealth for its investors. The company is expected to list this year with a valuation that could reach two trillion dollars. However, the gains are already substantial even before the stock goes public. At the latest private market valuation of 965 billion dollars, many venture capital firms and early backers hold stakes worth billions of dollars.

Eric Schmidt is one of the most notable winners. The former Google chief invested in the Series A round in 2021. At that time, the startup was valued at 461 million dollars. Today, Schmidt owns about one percent of the company. Even at the current private price, his share is worth nearly ten billion dollars.

Later stage investors have also seen significant returns. Iconiq wrote a check for six billion dollars last year. The company was valued at 183 billion dollars at that time. That investment is now worth 17 billion dollars. It has the potential to double in value once the IPO is complete. Menlo Ventures led the Series D round and has put over one billion dollars into the firm. Their stake is currently valued at 14 billion dollars.

Sequoia entered the picture earlier this year. They backed the AI lab when its valuation had already hit 380 billion dollars. A three billion dollar investment gave them about one percent ownership. This move has already more than doubled their initial capital. Sound Ventures, launched by Guy Oseary and Ashton Kutcher, invested 35 million dollars in the 2023 Series C. They later added another 400 million dollars to their position. That combined stake is now worth billions. Kutcher left Sound Ventures this year to start a new venture capital firm.

Spark Capital holds the only known board seat at the company. They invested 75 million dollars in the same 2023 Series C round. The company was valued at 5 billion dollars at the time. That position has grown more than ninetyfold. It is now worth 7 billion dollars. These figures highlight how rapidly valuations have increased in the AI sector over the last few years.

The context for these gains is the rapid growth of large language models. Investors who entered early are seeing exponential returns. Those who joined later are still seeing strong appreciation. The outlook for the coming months is bright for these holders. A successful listing at the top end of the valuation range would solidify their positions. It would also set a new benchmark for private tech companies entering the public market.