Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt owns about 1% of Anthropic, according to Bloomberg, a holding that could be worth close to $10 billion at the company's latest private valuation and far more in a public listing. The report has not been independently verified, and it remains unclear whether Schmidt has sold any shares since 2021. For corporate buyers of AI, the figure matters because Anthropic's listing may reset pricing and vendor power around Claude models.
How Schmidt built a 1% stake in Anthropic
Schmidt invested tens of millions of dollars in Anthropic's Series A round in 2021, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. That round raised $124 million and was led by Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn, with Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz also participating. PitchBook data cited by Bloomberg put Anthropic's valuation at $461 million at the time. A stake of about 1% dating from that round implies an early entry before the surge in large language model adoption.
The arithmetic behind the current figures shows how much the valuation has moved. After a private funding round in May, Anthropic was valued at $965 billion, which puts a 1% holding at roughly $9.7 billion. Potential investors have discussed an IPO valuation of $1.8 trillion to $2 trillion, Bloomberg reported. At the upper end, the holding would be worth around $20 billion and would lift Schmidt's estimated net worth from $57.5 billion to nearly $80 billion, assuming the full stake remains intact.
The listing timetable is taking shape but is not final. Anthropic could begin marketing its shares to investors as early as the week of 9 November, Bloomberg reported earlier this month, with trading potentially starting before US Thanksgiving on 26 November. Some investors are now pushing for a lower valuation of around $1.5 trillion after weaker third-quarter results, Reuters reported on Monday. Even at that level, Schmidt's reported holding would be worth about $15 billion.
What Anthropic valuation means for AI buyers
For companies that build products on Claude, a listing at $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion would cement Anthropic as a long-term infrastructure supplier alongside backers Google and Amazon. Both technology groups have invested billions of dollars in Anthropic and supply cloud computing capacity for its models. A well-funded public Anthropic is more likely to sustain model development, enterprise support, and availability guarantees. Small firms gain continuity of API access, while large customers gain leverage for multi-year agreements tied to a durable vendor.
The valuation debate itself is a signal to check commercial terms rather than headlines. US research firm New Constructs called the planned listing the year's "most ridiculous IPO" and estimated Anthropic's value at $144 billion, a fraction of the figures discussed by potential IPO investors. That gap leaves pricing, usage costs, and contract flexibility uncertain until marketing documents and final terms appear. Buyers should ask vendors about price-change clauses, data handling, model-version support, and exit options if commercial priorities shift after listing.
The marker to watch is the range disclosed when Anthropic starts marketing shares, expected in the week of 9 November, and whether trading begins before 26 November. Confirmation of a $1.5 trillion, $1.8 trillion, or $2 trillion target will show how public investors price AI model revenue against infrastructure costs. A completed listing near those levels would lock in Anthropic's position among top-tier model providers for enterprise budgets in 2027.
