Full Breakdown
Eric Schmidt’s Early Bet on Anthropic Could Add Up to $20 Billion
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Investment Details
Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt is reported to own roughly 1 percent of Anthropic, the AI lab behind the Claude chatbot. Bloomberg cites people familiar with the matter who say Schmidt invested “tens of millions of dollars” in Anthropic’s Series A round in 2021, when the startup was valued at $461 million, according to PitchBook data. The stake is described as “remarkably large” compared with the 2 percent held by co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei.
Potential Valuation and Wealth Impact
Analysts have projected Anthropic’s market value could reach between $1.8 trillion and $2 trillion ahead of its anticipated IPO later this year. At a $2 trillion valuation, Schmidt’s 1 percent would be worth as much as $20 billion, potentially raising his Bloomberg-estimated net worth from $57.5 billion to nearly $80 billion. Even at Anthropic’s most recent reported valuation of $965 billion, the stake would be valued at close to $10 billion.
Funding and Ownership Landscape
Anthropic’s financing includes major technology firms Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia and Microsoft, as well as venture firms Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital, each contributing more than $2 billion in a May funding round that raised $65 billion overall. The company’s seven co-founders are each estimated to be worth about $8 billion on paper. A photo of the Anthropic Claude website was captured in Forest Hills, New York, on April 22, 2026 (source: NY Post).
Comparative Returns
Schmidt’s Anthropic investment would surpass his earlier Innovation Endeavors bet on Uber, which saw a roughly 1,400-fold increase to an $82 billion valuation at Uber’s 2019 IPO, according to Bloomberg.
Official Responses and Outlook
Both Schmidt and Anthropic declined to comment on the stake. Bloomberg reports that Anthropic could begin marketing its IPO to investors as early as the week of early November, with the possibility of trading before the Thanksgiving holiday. The anticipated debut could match or exceed SpaceX’s record-setting $1.77 trillion valuation from its June IPO.