Alphabet Is Set to Become an Even Bigger Anthropic Shareholder After the IPO

Anthropic is targeting a $2 trillion IPO valuation this year, a figure that could make it the biggest IPO in history and eclipse SpaceX (SPCX). The listing sets up a bigger stake for Alphabet, whose share classes trade as GOOG, GOOGL, GOOGM and GOOGN.

Alphabet already owns an estimated 14% of the AI company. It holds an exclusive option to buy up to $10 billion in additional shares at the IPO price, plus $20 billion in reserved investment capacity. Together, that is up to $30 billion in potential additional exposure to a company valued at $2 trillion.

Amazon (AMZN) is expected to remain the largest Anthropic shareholder, with a stake of 15%-20%. Alphabet's 14% sits just below that range, so how much of the option and reserved capacity it uses will determine whether the gap narrows.

Interpretation: buying at the IPO price rather than in the open market gives Alphabet a fixed entry point, while the $20 billion in reserved capacity signals room to scale beyond the $10 billion option. Whether Alphabet exercises either is not confirmed in the reporting, so the stake increase remains a possibility, not a done deal.