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.

Early Series A Investment

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 his original shares.

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 public stock market debut in 2004. He later served as Google's executive chairman.

When Alphabet Inc. was created in 2015, Schmidt continued in that role. In 2017, he moved to a technology advisory position.

How Much Could Schmidt Gain?

Data company PitchBook says Anthropic was worth $461 million when Schmidt invested in it in 2021.

Last week, investors indicated that the company's fair value was about $1.8 trillion to $2 trillion, Bloomberg reported. At the higher value, the company behind Claude could be worth more than 4,300 times the amount it raised in its Series A funding round.

If Anthropic is valued at $2 trillion, Schmidt's stake could increase his net worth by about one-third, bringing it to nearly $80 billion, according to Bloomberg's wealth index.

At Anthropic's May valuation of $965 billion, Schmidt could add $10 billion to 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 behind Claude in later funding rounds.

IPO Could Happen Within Weeks

Anthropic has not officially announced when it plans to sell shares to the public for the first time through an initial public offering, or IPO. Brad Gerstner of Altimeter Capital, an early investor in the company, told CNBC last week that he expects the IPO to happen in "weeks, not months."

Reuters reported that Anthropic told investors its revenue in the third quarter rose 45% from the previous quarter to $16.8 billion. The company also said it was profitable after certain adjustments.