Amazon's $5 Billion Bet on AI Startup Anthropic Could Be Worth Hundreds of Billions

Amazon's investment in Anthropic, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup, has grown significantly over time. The company first invested $1.25 billion in Anthropic in September 2023 as part of a broader $4 billion commitment. In March 2024, Amazon completed the remaining $2.75 billion tranche, bringing its total investment to $5 billion, with an option for another $20 billion contingent on meeting commercial milestones.

In November 2024, Amazon invested another $4 billion in Anthropic, valuing the company at around $40 billion at the time. By March 2025, Anthropic's valuation had increased to $61.5 billion and later climbed to $183 billion by September of that year. In earlier this year, Anthropic was valued at $380 billion after raising a Series G round.

The company has since raised another $65 billion in Series H funding at a post-money valuation of $965 billion. Amazon's ownership stake in Anthropic is estimated to be around 19.7%, based on its filings with the SEC, which values the stake at around $190 billion. However, if Anthropic were to go public at a valuation of $2 trillion, as rumored, Amazon's stake would be worth around $394 billion.

This represents a significant gain for Amazon, and one that is already reflected in its market value. The company's stock price has increased significantly since its investment in Anthropic, making it difficult to determine the exact impact of the stake on Amazon's overall valuation.