Eric Schmidt Wrote a Check to Anthropic Before the AI Boom: Here’s How Big the Payoff Could Get
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt reportedly owns about 1% of Anthropic PBC because he invested in the company early. This could give him one of the biggest personal financial gains when the artificial intelligence company goes public, meaning its shares become available for people to buy on the stock market.
His Early Investment in Series A
Schmidt invested “tens of millions of dollars” in Anthropic's Series A funding round, according to a Bloomberg report published Monday. The report cited people who know about the investment.
However, it is not clear whether Schmidt has sold any of the shares he received from his early investment.
Anthropic and Schmidt did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment.
Schmidt was Google's CEO from 2001 to 2011. During that time, he oversaw the company's stock market debut in 2004. He later became the company's executive chairman.
He continued in that role at Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, NASDAQ: GOOGL) when Alphabet was created in 2015. In 2017, he moved to a role advising the company on technology.
How Much Schmidt Could Gain
According to data company PitchBook, Anthropic was worth $461 million when Schmidt invested in it in 2021.
Last week, investors suggested that the company could be worth between $1.8 trillion and $2 trillion, Bloomberg reported. At the upper end of that range, the company behind Claude could be worth more than 4,300 times the amount it raised in its Series A funding round.
At a company value of $2 trillion, Schmidt's stake could increase his total wealth by about one-third, bringing it to nearly $80 billion, according to Bloomberg's wealth index.
Based on Anthropic's valuation of $965 billion in May, Schmidt could gain $10 billion, increasing his current net worth of $57.5 billion, the report added.
Other Investors
Alphabet owns about 14% of Anthropic. At a company value of $2 trillion, that stake would be worth more than $280 billion. Amazon.com, Inc. has invested an estimated $8 billion in Anthropic.
Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Corp. have also invested in the company that makes Claude.
Anthropic Could Go Public Within Weeks
Anthropic has not officially announced when it plans to sell shares to the public. Brad Gerstner of Altimeter Capital, an early investor in the company, told CNBC last week that he expects Anthropic to go public in “weeks, not months.”
Anthropic told investors that its revenue in the third quarter increased by 45% compared with the previous quarter, reaching $16.8 billion. Reuters reported that the company also made a profit after certain adjustments were made to its financial results.
Stock Price Changes: Alphabet's Class A shares closed 1.05% higher on Monday at $344.18. They then rose another 0.070% in extended trading after the regular market closed. Class C shares closed 0.96% higher at $340.16 and rose 0.041% in after-hours trading.
Benzinga Edge rankings show that Alphabet's Class A stock has a Momentum score in the 81st percentile and a Growth score in the 84th percentile. These scores compare the stock with others in the ranking.
See More: Top Stocks With Strong Momentum
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