Early investors see massive gains ahead of Anthropic listing

The impending public debut of Anthropic is set to generate substantial returns for its earliest supporters. The company is expected to list this year, potentially at a valuation reaching two trillion dollars. Even before that final price is set, the current private market valuation of 965 billion dollars has already turned early investments into billions of dollars in equity value.

Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive of Google, stands as a prominent example of these early gains. According to PitchBook data, he participated in the Series A funding round in 2021 when the startup was valued at 461 million dollars. His stake, which represents approximately one percent of the company, is now worth nearly ten billion dollars based on the latest private valuation.

Late-stage institutional investors have also secured significant positions in the AI firm. Iconiq, an investment outfit, wrote a check for six billion dollars last year when Anthropic was already valued at 183 billion dollars. That substantial bet has grown to a value of 17 billion dollars and is projected to double in value once the company goes public.

Other major venture capital firms have seen their holdings appreciate considerably over time. Menlo Ventures, which led the Series D round, has invested more than one billion dollars in the company and now holds a stake worth 14 billion dollars. Similarly, Sequoia entered the fold earlier this year with a three billion dollar investment at a 380 billion dollar valuation. This purchase secured roughly one percent ownership, effectively doubling the firm's initial outlay.

Smaller firms and celebrity-backed funds have also reaped large rewards from their earlier entries. Sound Ventures, co-founded by Guy Oseary and actor Ashton Kutcher, invested 35 million dollars in the 2023 Series C round and subsequently added 400 million dollars more. Their combined stake is now valued in the billions, though Kutcher departed the firm this year to launch a new venture capital entity.

Spark Capital, the only venture capital firm known to hold a board seat at Anthropic, experienced the most dramatic growth among the listed investors. The firm invested 75 million dollars in the same 2023 round when the company was valued at five billion dollars. That position has since expanded by more than ninety times to reach a value of seven billion dollars.

As the company moves toward its anticipated IPO, these figures underscore the lucrative nature of early exposure to the leading AI lab. The current private market prices already reflect significant appreciation, setting a high baseline for the wealth creation expected at the public listing.