How much Anthropic investors have made before the IPO

The upcoming public offering for Anthropic is set to create a historic financial event for its investors. With the company expected to go public this year at a valuation potentially reaching two trillion dollars, the windfall will be substantial for both early and late-stage backers. Even before the final price is set, the stakes held by these venture capitalists are already valued in the billions based on the most recent private market figures.

The path to this valuation has been rapid. In 2021, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt invested in the company during its Series A round when it was valued at just 461 million dollars. By last year, the company had grown to a 183 billion dollar valuation, prompting a 6 billion dollar investment from Iconiq. This summer, Sequoia Capital entered the picture with a 3 billion dollar bet when the company was already worth 380 billion dollars.

At the latest private valuation of 965 billion dollars, the returns for these key players are staggering. Eric Schmidt’s stake, which he has held since 2021, represents about one percent of the company. At the current price, his holding is worth nearly 10 billion dollars. Iconiq’s late-stage investment, made when the valuation was already high, has grown to a 17 billion dollar position and could double again upon the IPO.

Other major players have also seen significant appreciation. Menlo Ventures, which led the Series D round, has invested over 1 billion dollars in total. That commitment is now valued at 14 billion dollars. Meanwhile, Sequoia’s recent 3 billion dollar investment secured them roughly one percent ownership. This means their investment has already more than doubled in value in a short period.

Sound Ventures, a firm co-founded by Guy Oseary and Ashton Kutcher, also has a large position. They initially invested 35 million dollars in the 2023 Series C round and added another 400 million dollars later. While Kutcher left the firm this year to start a new venture, the company’s stake in Anthropic is now worth billions. Note that the 2023 Series C round valued the company at 5 billion dollars, a fraction of where it stands today.

Perhaps the most dramatic return belongs to Spark Capital. As the only known VC firm with a board seat, they invested 75 million dollars in that same 2023 round. Their position has since ballooned by more than ninety times to reach a value of 7 billion dollars. As the IPO date approaches, these numbers represent just the current state of play before the market’s final verdict on the company’s worth.

The timeline shows how quickly valuations shifted from the hundreds of millions to the hundreds of billions within five years. For these firms, the private market gains have already been realized in terms of paper wealth, but the public listing will determine their final exit values. Investors in New England and elsewhere will be watching closely as this major tech IPO unfolds later this year.