Thanks to Anthropic: Eric Schmidt could become more than $20 billion richer

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is expected to earn over $20 billion from Anthropic's IPO, thanks to an early investment of tens of millions of dollars. According to Bloomberg, his roughly 1% stake in the company could boost his net worth to nearly $80 billion.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is expected to be one of the biggest winners from the upcoming IPO of artificial intelligence company Anthropic, according to a Bloomberg report. Schmidt holds about 1% of the company, which is behind the Claude model, following an investment of tens of millions of dollars in an early funding round. The potential return reflects the extraordinary surge in the valuation of AI companies. According to PitchBook, Anthropic was valued at $461 million in 2021, and now its IPO valuation is estimated at $1.8-2 trillion, more than 4,300 times its initial value. In Bloomberg's calculation, Schmidt's stake could increase his wealth by more than a third to nearly $80 billion. Even under a lower valuation of $965 billion, his wealth would expand by $10 billion. Anthropic is expected to begin marketing for the IPO the week of November 9 and trade on the Nasdaq before Thanksgiving. The IPO will compete with SpaceX's from June.