Eric Schmidt Holds About 1% of Anthropic From Early Series A Bet
Key Takeaways
- •Eric Schmidt holds a roughly 1% stake in Anthropic, stemming from a Series A investment in 2021 that reportedly totaled tens of millions of dollars at a $461 million company valuation.
- •Anthropic is preparing an IPO that could value it between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion, after reaching a $965 billion private valuation in a May 2026 funding round.
- •If the IPO reaches the higher end of that range, Schmidt's stake could be worth up to around $20 billion, an amount that could increase his recently estimated $57.5 billion to $67.4 billion net worth by about a third.
- •Anthropic's revenue grew 45% quarter-over-quarter to $16.8 billion in the third quarter of 2026, and the company was profitable on an adjusted basis.
- •Formal IPO marketing is expected to begin in November 2026 with trading anticipated before the end of the year, and Anthropic's major backers include Amazon, which serves as its cloud partner, and Alphabet, which holds roughly 14%.
Eric Schmidt's early investment in Anthropic has grown into a stake of roughly 1% in the company behind the Claude AI models, according to Bloomberg. The holding traces back to the former Google and Alphabet CEO's investment in the company's Series A round in 2021.
A small slice of a very large pie
Bloomberg reported the size of Schmidt's holding on October 19, 2026. The former CEO of Google and Alphabet reportedly put tens of millions of dollars into Anthropic's Series A, a round that valued the company at $461 million.
Anthropic's valuation has risen steeply since. The company reached a private valuation of $965 billion after a funding round in May 2026, and it is now preparing for an initial public offering that could value it between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion. Even the lower end of that range would be more than 3,000 times the $461 million Series A valuation, a measure of how far the company's value has climbed in roughly five years.
If the higher figure materializes, Schmidt's roughly 1% stake could be worth up to around $20 billion. His net worth was recently pegged at between $57.5 billion and $67.4 billion, meaning a payday of that size could lift it by approximately a third.
The road to Anthropic's public debut
Anthropic is expected to begin formal IPO marketing in November 2026, with trading anticipated to start before the end of the year.
In the third quarter of 2026, the company's revenue jumped 45% quarter-over-quarter to $16.8 billion, and Anthropic was profitable on adjusted basis. Adjusted figures exclude certain items and can differ from results under standard accounting rules, so that number may not match what a conventional profit measure would show.
Schmidt is far from the only prominent name on Anthropic's cap table. Amazon has invested multiple billions in the company and serves as its cloud partner. Alphabet, the parent company Schmidt once ran, holds roughly a 14% stake.
What a public listing could mean
A listing in the $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion range would rank among the most valuable debuts the market has seen. Even a valuation below that range would still represent a premium over the May private round.
Revenue growth of 45% quarter-over-quarter to $16.8 billion is the kind of expansion associated with a premium multiple.
Amazon and Alphabet would both see their Anthropic holdings marked to a public price. Alphabet's roughly 14% position, in particular, would become a far easier figure for its own shareholders to value.
Schmidt's potential windfall of up to around $20 billion depends on the higher end of the range being reached. Until shares actually trade, it remains a projection. The next markers are the start of formal marketing in November and the final pricing of the deal, which will show where Anthropic's public valuation actually lands.
