Why Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher stands to profit from Anthropic's IPO

Actor Ashton Kutcher has used the venture capital firm he co-founded to identify promising early-stage startups. He invested in Anthropic early on and is expected to reap substantial returns when the company goes public. [Getty Images]

With Anthropic expected to be the only successful — and the biggest — initial public offering remaining on US markets this year, attention is turning to the investors who stand to benefit most from its listing.

Early backers will see the most dramatic returns, but later-stage investors are also projected to collect outsized gains, given that Anthropic — which had virtually no sales in its early days — has grown rapidly since last year. Bloomberg identified Iconiq, Spark Capital and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC as among those in that position.

According to Bloomberg, Iconiq has invested more than $6 billion in Anthropic since last year. Based on Anthropic's most recently assessed valuation of $965 billion, Iconiq's stake is worth roughly $17 billion. If Anthropic lists at a $2 trillion valuation, as the market expects, that figure could double.

Spark Capital is the only venture capital firm with a board seat at Anthropic. It invested $75 million in 2023, and at the current valuation its stake is now worth $7 billion — more than 90 times its original value even before the IPO.

Anthropic is expected to be the last and biggest IPO of the year when it lists next month, drawing attention to the investors set to reap major returns. Pictured is Dario Amodei, co-founder and CEO of Anthropic. [Getty Images]

Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher is among the most prominent investors set to benefit from Anthropic's listing. Sound Ventures — the venture capital firm he co-founded with Guy Oseary and Effie Epstein — invested $35 million in a 2023 funding round that valued Anthropic at $5 billion, then put in an additional $400 million in a subsequent round, leaving the firm with a stake now worth several billion dollars, Bloomberg reported. Kutcher stepped back from managing Sound Ventures earlier this year but still holds his stake.

Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC has invested more than $4.5 billion in Anthropic since making its first investment last year, giving it a roughly 1 percent stake. Sequoia Capital, an early backer of OpenAI, made its first investment in Anthropic only earlier this year — a reflection of the unwritten rule in venture capital against investing in direct competitors at the same time. Sequoia put in $3 billion for a stake of about 1 percent, which is also expected to yield a substantial return at listing.

Among individual investors, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt holds a 1 percent stake in Anthropic and is expected to be the biggest individual beneficiary of the IPO.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is reported to hold a 1 percent stake in Anthropic, making him the individual investor expected to profit most from the company's listing. [Getty Images]

Menlo Ventures is one of the most prominent venture capital firms to have backed Anthropic from an early stage and continued investing in subsequent rounds. Starting with its first investment in 2023, it went on to lead the Series D round, committing a total of $1 billion to the company. Bloomberg estimates Menlo Ventures' stake in Anthropic is worth roughly $14 billion at the most recent valuation — a holding representing less than 2 percent of the company. Lightspeed Venture Partners, which joined at the Series D round and participated in later rounds as well, is also reported to hold a stake of less than 2 percent.

Other venture firms expected to benefit from Anthropic's IPO include Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, Coatue and Greenoaks.

kate01@heraldcorp.com