The $10 Billion Return: How Early Anthropic Backers Are Positioning for a $2 Trillion IPO

Nearly $10 billion. That is the approximate current value of the stake held by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt in Anthropic, the artificial intelligence lab that is reportedly on track for a public listing later this year. While the company’s eventual valuation at its initial public offering could reach as high as $2 trillion, the windfall for investors is already tangible at the firm's most recent private market valuation of $965 billion. For the venture capitalists and early backers who placed their chips on the AI race, the stakes are no longer theoretical; they are substantial sums that have already begun to reshape their portfolios.

The trajectory of Anthropic’s valuation has been nothing short of meteoric, a journey that can be traced through a series of increasingly massive funding rounds. It began in 2021, when the startup was valued at just $461 million. It was during this Series A round that Eric Schmidt first invested, a move that has since transformed his holding into one of the most valuable positions in the tech sector. At that early stage, the company was a fledgling entity, but the strategic interest from high-profile figures like Schmidt signaled the potential scale of the venture.

As the company grew, so did the size of the checks from later-stage investors. By last year, Anthropic was already valued at $183 billion. It was at this juncture that Iconiq, an investment firm, wrote a $6 billion check to the company. This was a significant late-stage bet, but the return has been substantial. At the current private valuation, Iconiq’s position is worth approximately $17 billion. Analysts suggest that this figure has the potential to double once the company completes its IPO, further cementing the firm’s success in the AI space.

Other major players in the venture capital world have also seen their investments multiply. Menlo Ventures, which led the company’s Series D, has poured more than $1 billion into Anthropic over time. Today, that accumulated stake is valued at roughly $14 billion. Similarly, Sound Ventures, a firm co-founded by Guy Oseary and actor Ashton Kutcher, has made a significant commitment to the lab. After investing $35 million in the 2023 Series C, the firm funneled an additional $400 million into Anthropic. While Kutcher left Sound Ventures this year to launch his own venture capital firm, the original investment has grown into a stake worth billions.

Perhaps the most dramatic example of wealth creation is found in the portfolio of Spark Capital. The firm, which holds the only known board seat at Anthropic, invested $75 million during the 2023 Series C round. At that time, the company’s valuation stood at $5 billion. In the span of a few years, that position has ballooned by more than ninetyfold. Today, Spark Capital’s holding is valued at approximately $7 billion, a testament to the explosive growth of the AI sector since the early 2020s.

Even investors who arrived later in the company’s lifecycle have seen their capital appreciate significantly. Sequoia, one of the most renowned venture capital firms, first backed Anthropic only earlier this year. At the time of its entry, the company was already valued at $380 billion. Sequoia invested $3 billion, securing about 1% ownership. Despite entering at a much higher multiple than the earliest backers, the investment has already more than doubled in value, reflecting the continued upward pressure on the company’s worth.

The path to a public listing is not without its complexities, but the financial implications for those who backed Anthropic early are already profound. The company’s journey from a $461 million valuation in 2021 to its current $965 billion private market price represents a historic growth curve in technology. For Eric Schmidt, whose 1% stake is now worth nearly $10 billion, the return is already a landmark event. For firms like Menlo Ventures and Spark Capital, the billions they have accumulated underscore the high stakes of the AI investment landscape.

As the market anticipates a potential IPO at a valuation of up to $2 trillion, the focus will shift from private market gains to public equity performance. The figures cited here are based on the company’s last private round, but they provide a clear snapshot of the wealth generated by the AI boom. Whether the final public valuation matches the optimistic $2 trillion mark remains to be seen, but for the backers named here, the majority of the financial upside has already been secured in the private markets.

This financial windfall is not just a matter of individual wealth; it reflects the broader confidence investors have placed in Anthropic’s technology and market position. The diverse group of backers, ranging from individual tech titans to institutional venture capital firms, has collectively bet on the future of AI. As the company moves closer to a public listing, these initial investments will be scrutinized as case studies in high-growth venture capital, illustrating how early access to transformative technology can lead to extraordinary returns.

The story of Anthropic’s backers is a microcosm of the wider AI investment trend. From the modest $461 million valuation of 2021 to the current $965 billion, the company has become a central pillar of the tech industry. The stakeholders, including Eric Schmidt, Iconiq, Menlo Ventures, Sequoia, Sound Ventures, and Spark Capital, have all benefited from this growth. As the IPO approaches, their positions will likely serve as a benchmark for the performance of AI-focused investments in the coming years.