Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt's early Anthropic bet could balloon to $20B in blockbuster IPO
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s early investment in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic could be worth as much as $20 billion when the company goes public, according to a report.
The 71-year-old technology billionaire owns about 1% of the company that makes the Claude chatbot. He invested tens of millions of dollars in Anthropic’s Series A funding round in 2021, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Investors recently estimated that Anthropic could be worth between $1.8 trillion and $2 trillion ahead of its highly anticipated initial public offering, or IPO, according to Bloomberg.
Even using Anthropic’s most recent estimated value of $965 billion, Schmidt’s reported stake would be worth nearly $10 billion on paper.
Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index estimates that Schmidt is already worth $57.5 billion.
If Anthropic were valued at $2 trillion, Schmidt’s estimated wealth would rise to nearly $80 billion on paper, based on his reported ownership stake.
According to PitchBook data cited by Bloomberg, Schmidt invested in Anthropic’s first major fundraising round in 2021, when the startup was valued at $461 million.
A $2 trillion valuation would be more than 4,300 times that early value.
Schmidt and Anthropic declined to comment to Bloomberg. Bloomberg said it could not determine whether Schmidt had sold any of his shares since he first invested.
Anthropic could start promoting its IPO to investors as early as the week of Nov. 9. This could allow its shares to start trading before Thanksgiving, Bloomberg reported.
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, each of Anthropic’s seven co-founders is estimated to be worth $8 billion on paper.
Schmidt has also invested in many technology companies through firms including TomorrowVentures and Innovation Endeavors, as well as his family office, Hillspire.
More recently, Schmidt has invested large amounts of money in AI startups including Mistral AI, Reflection AI and World Labs, according to Bloomberg.
If Anthropic reaches a value of $2 trillion, Schmidt’s investment would do better than Innovation Endeavors’ early investment in Uber. Uber’s value rose about 1,400 times to $82 billion by the time it went public in 2019, Bloomberg reported.
Anthropic became more valuable than rival OpenAI after raising $65 billion in May. According to Bloomberg, venture capital firms Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital each invested more than $2 billion.
Other major investors in the company behind the Claude chatbot include technology giants Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia and Microsoft.
Anthropic’s first day on the stock market could match or exceed SpaceX’s $1.77 trillion valuation when SpaceX had its record-setting IPO in June, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Schmidt’s personal life has also drawn a lot of public attention.
The billionaire has been married to philanthropist Wendy Schmidt since 1980, although his relationships with other women have also attracted public attention.
He previously dated businesswoman Michelle Ritter. According to Forbes, the two started the technology company Steel Perlot together.
Their relationship later ended, and the former couple became involved in a legal dispute. In June, the Los Angeles Times reported that Ritter had been ordered to pay Schmidt $10 million.
Schmidt was also romantically linked to Alexandra Duisberg. Page Six reported that they split in 2019 and got back in touch the following year.
More recently, the former Google chief sparked speculation about his love life after appearing at events with Gloria-Sophie Burkandt, the daughter of a German politician, earlier this year.
However, according to published reports, a source close to Schmidt described their relationship as a friendship, not a romance.
A representative for Schmidt declined to comment when contacted by The Post.