Tens of millions in. Fifteen billion out. Bloomberg reports that former Google CEO Eric Schmidt owns about 1% of Anthropic — a Series A bet that could become one of the largest individual windfalls in AI history when the Claude maker goes public.
According to Bloomberg News, via Reuters on October 19, Schmidt put tens of millions of dollars into Anthropic’s Series A round. With investors discussing a ~$1.5 trillion IPO valuation for the mid-November listing, that 1% stake pencils out to roughly $15 billion on paper.
You may never see a Series A term sheet, but the math is a masterclass in how early AI money gets made.
What Bloomberg found
Schmidt invested tens of millions of dollars in Anthropic’s Series A round, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. It’s unclear whether he has sold any of his stake since — but if he’s held, he’s positioned for one of the biggest individual payouts of the AI era. Anthropic and Schmidt’s representatives did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
| Detail | Figure (per Bloomberg via Reuters, Oct 19) |
|---|---|
| Stake | About 1% of Anthropic |
| Entry | Tens of millions in the Series A round |
| IPO valuation discussed | ~$1.5 trillion (down from $2T hopes) |
| Paper value at IPO | 1% × $1.5T = ~$15 billion |
| Implied return | ~300x on a $50M check (illustrative) |
The early money club
Schmidt isn’t the only one sitting on a life-changing position. Anthropic’s cap table reads like a who’s-who of tech’s deepest pockets:
- Amazon — invested billions and supplies cloud computing capacity to train and run Claude models.
- Google — likewise invested billions plus cloud capacity. (Yes: the company Schmidt ran from 2001 to 2011, and whose parent Alphabet he chaired until January 2018.)
- Eric Schmidt — the ~1% Series A stake, bought with tens of millions when Anthropic was a fraction of its current size.
Why this matters right now
Anthropic’s IPO is expected in mid-November, and the valuation debate is live: some investors argue for ~$1.5 trillion rather than the hoped-for $2 trillion after Q3 fell short, Reuters reported last week.
Even at the lower number, the math is staggering — and it lands days after Anthropic’s pledge of 5% of its shares (~$48B) to a public-benefit fund, plus the Reuters exclusive on OpenAI’s $30B race to close before Anthropic lists.
In its IPO prospectus seen by Reuters in September, Anthropic laid out a vision that AI will transform the global economy more profoundly than industrialization, electricity, and the internet. Schmidt’s 1% is a $15 billion vote that the prospectus is right.
How 1% becomes $15 billion
Write a tens-of-millions check in the Series A, when the company is worth a tiny fraction of its future self.
Keep the stake through later rounds. Dilution happens — but ~1% survived to the IPO.
The company grows revenue to ~$65B annualized and becomes a two-horse frontier race with OpenAI.
IPO at ~$1.5T turns 1% into ~$15B. That’s the Series A compounding machine.
Lessons for the rest of us
You probably can’t write a Series A check for tens of millions. But the principles behind Schmidt’s bet translate:
- Bet on the infrastructure layer. Schmidt didn’t back an AI app — he backed a frontier lab. In gold rushes, the biggest returns go to whoever owns the mine, not the pickaxe shop. For builders, that means working with frontier models, not competing against them.
- Time horizon is the edge. Series A to IPO took years. Most people can’t replicate the capital, but anyone can replicate the patience: build AI skills and businesses on a multi-year horizon while others chase weekly hype cycles.
- Use the tools the winners are building. Claude is the product behind the $1.5 trillion. Learning to deploy it — automations, agents, client work — is the accessible version of “getting exposure” to the AI labs.
- Watch who else got in early. Amazon and Google didn’t just invest cash; they supplied cloud computing. In AI, compute is currency. Skills around deploying and scaling models ride the same wave.
- Don’t confuse paper with cash. $15 billion is paper until shares are sold and lockups expire. Treat every headline number as a signal, not a paycheck.
Claude for Google Workspace — the enterprise push behind Anthropic’s ~$65B run-rate. Official Anthropic video.
FAQ
How much of Anthropic does Eric Schmidt own?
About 1%, according to Bloomberg News reporting on October 19, 2026, cited by Reuters. It’s unclear whether he has sold any of his stake since the Series A.
How much did Schmidt invest?
Bloomberg reports he invested tens of millions of dollars in Anthropic’s Series A funding round. The exact figure wasn’t disclosed.
What could the stake be worth at IPO?
At the ~$1.5 trillion valuation some investors have discussed for the mid-November IPO, 1% equals roughly $15 billion — about a 300x paper return on an illustrative $50 million check.
Who else backed Anthropic early?
Amazon and Google were among the early backers, investing billions of dollars and supplying the cloud computing capacity used to develop and run Claude models, per Reuters.
When is Anthropic’s IPO?
The public market debut is expected in mid-November 2026, with investors debating a valuation around $1.5 trillion versus earlier hopes of roughly $2 trillion.
Did Schmidt comment on the report?
Representatives for Schmidt and Anthropic did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
What was Schmidt’s role at Google?
Eric Schmidt served as Google’s CEO from 2001 to 2011 and later as executive chairman of parent company Alphabet, stepping down in January 2018.