Eric Schmidt’s Investment in Anthropic Could Lead to Major Windfall
Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO and prominent Democratic donor, owns a one percent stake in Anthropic, an AI startup he invested in back in 2021. This stake, originating from a multimillion-dollar investment, could significantly enhance Schmidt’s net worth—potentially by as much as $10 billion—once the company goes public.
According to reports, Schmidt’s initial investment came when Anthropic was valued at $461 million. However, it’s not clear if he has sold any of his shares since that time. Both Schmidt and Anthropic declined to provide comments on the matter.
The valuation outlook for Anthropic has improved dramatically. Recently, investors suggested the company’s worth might be between $1.8 trillion and $2 trillion, which is astonishingly more than 4,300 times its initial value. If we consider the higher end of that estimate, Schmidt’s stake could raise his net worth to nearly $80 billion, based on Bloomberg’s wealth index. Even when considering Anthropic’s most recent valuation of $965 billion, Schmidt’s stake would still contribute close to $10 billion to his current fortune of $57.5 billion.
The seven co-founders of Anthropic are estimated to each have a net worth of $8 billion after the latest funding round, placing them among the world’s richest people according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Their initial public offering (IPO), anticipated for November, is likely to create numerous new millionaires and billionaires affiliated with the Effective Altruism movement.
Schmidt has made his investments through various entities like TomorrowVentures, Innovation Endeavors, and his family office, Hillspire. His early investment interests mainly focused on consumer internet, software, and fintech, while his recent investments have shifted towards artificial intelligence, including support for companies like Mistral AI and Reflection AI.
This potential gain with Anthropic isn’t Schmidt’s only significant investment success. Innovation Endeavors had a notable early investment in Uber in 2011, which skyrocketed in value to approximately $82 billion by the time of Uber’s IPO in 2019. Should Anthropic go public at a valuation of $2 trillion, Schmidt would reap an even greater return than he did with Uber.
The company is set to start marketing its IPO around November 9, with trading expected to initiate before the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Various sources suggest that Anthropic’s public offering will likely occur by year-end, targeting a size that could either match or exceed SpaceX’s record $1.77 trillion IPO from June.
Anthropic, under CEO Dario Amodei, has been influential in advocating for a cautious approach to AI development, arguing for a slowdown while still progressing. Amodei has proposed a plan to maintain industry growth but with emphasis on safety and thorough evaluations without forfeiting competitive advantages.
AI leaders seem to be promoting industry regulations simultaneously while releasing robust AI models. In discussions surrounding the slowdown, some experts, including David Sacks, argue that motives may not be purely altruistic but rather about securing their positions within the industry and avoiding antitrust scrutiny.
