Eric Schmidt's Stake in Anthropic Hits $10 Billion

Eric Schmidt, the former head of Google, is sitting on a personal fortune that has grown to nearly $10 billion thanks to his early bet on Anthropic. The tech veteran joined the company during its Series A round in 2021, a time when the startup was valued at just $461 million. According to data from PitchBook, his initial investment has matured into a roughly 1% ownership stake. At the company's most recent private valuation of $965 billion, that slice of the pie is now worth almost ten billion dollars. This gain sets the stage for what could be an even larger windfall if the company goes public as expected.

The anticipated public listing is forecast to happen sometime this year, with analysts suggesting the valuation could reach as high as $2 trillion. Such a jump would create significant wealth for both early-stage venture capitalists and later-stage institutional investors. Even before that potential IPO boost, the stakes held by major backers already amount to billions of dollars. The figures below reflect the value of these holdings at the latest private market price of $965 billion, as reported by Bloomberg.

Iconiq, an investment firm that made a massive late-stage bet on the company, is also seeing its portfolio value surge. Last year, the firm wrote a check for $6 billion to Anthropic when the company was already valued at $183 billion. That single investment has since appreciated to a current value of $17 billion. If the IPO materializes at the projected high end, there is a realistic possibility that this position could double in value again.

Menlo Ventures, which played a leading role in the company's Series D funding round, has also accumulated a substantial position. The firm has invested more than $1 billion in Anthropic over the course of its history. That cumulative investment now translates to a stake worth approximately $14 billion. Menlo's deep involvement in the company's growth phase has positioned it as one of the major beneficiaries of the AI lab's rapid valuation increases.

Sequoia, a well-known venture capital firm, entered the picture more recently but still secured significant upside. The firm backed the AI lab for the first time earlier this year, at a time when the company was already valued at $380 billion. Sequoia invested $3 billion to secure about 1% ownership. Because the company's value has continued to climb since that point, Sequoia's investment has already more than doubled its initial outlay.

Sound Ventures, a firm co-founded by Guy Oseary and actor Ashton Kutcher, has also seen its returns grow substantially. The group invested $35 million in Anthropic's 2023 Series C round. They later added another $400 million to their investment in the company. This combined capital now holds a stake 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 represents another interesting case in the group of major backers. It is the only venture capital firm known to hold a seat on Anthropic's board of directors. The firm invested $75 million during the same 2023 Series C round that Sound Ventures participated in. At that time, the company was valued at $5 billion. Today, that position has ballooned more than ninetyfold to a value of $7 billion.

These figures highlight how quickly fortunes can change in the artificial intelligence sector. The gap between the valuations at the time of entry and the current private market price illustrates the magnitude of the gains. For many of these investors, the coming IPO could serve as the final step in a multi-year growth curve that has already transformed their portfolios.

As the market waits for the official listing date, the focus remains on how much higher the valuation will climb. The $965 billion mark serves as the baseline for these current valuations, but the potential $2 trillion target offers a glimpse into the scale of the event. For now, the stakeholders are holding positions that are already worth billions, with the possibility of further appreciation on the horizon.