FTX Estate Sells Anthropic Stake for $1.34 Billion
The bankrupt exchange's estate offloaded its 2021 Anthropic investment in two 2024 transactions ahead of a planned Nasdaq listing.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
Live Poll
Do you trust big AI companies to share their financial gains fairly with the public?
The FTX bankruptcy estate sold its stake in Anthropic for approximately $1.34 billion across two transactions in March-April and June 2024. The sale generated an estimated profit of around $800 million on the $500 million invested in 2021 by FTX and Alameda.
Why it matters
The estate's exit converted a bankrupt exchange's holdings into cash for creditors while the AI company's valuation climbed sharply. Anthropic's planned public listing could now make the value of those shares far higher than they fetched in 2024.
The stake was diluted from about 13.56% to roughly 7.84%-8% of Anthropic's shares and now totals about 445.4 million shares after a 10-for-1 split. Anthropic's planned IPO prices between $70 and $78 per share, implying a fully diluted valuation near $1.4 trillion at the top of the range.
The players
FTX
A cryptocurrency exchange that entered bankruptcy, whose estate now manages the disposal of its remaining assets for creditors.
Anthropic
An artificial intelligence company developing the Claude family of AI models, which is preparing a Nasdaq initial public offering.
Alameda Research
A quantitative trading firm closely affiliated with FTX that co-led the company's 2021 investment in Anthropic.
ATIC Third International Investment
An investment entity linked to Abu Dhabi's Mubadala that bought the largest single block of the stake in 2024.
The details
The stake was sold to 38 buyers at around $30 per share, with the largest single block, worth $500 million, going to ATIC Third International Investment, an entity linked to Abu Dhabi's Mubadala. A concurrent $26 billion placement to firms including Google and Nvidia accompanies the planned listing.
Timeline
2021: FTX and Alameda invest $500 million in Anthropic.
March-April 2024: First stake sale round brings in about $884 million.
June 2024: Second stake sale round brings in roughly $452 million.
May 2026: Anthropic raises funding at a $965 billion valuation.
November 19, 2026: Projected Anthropic Nasdaq IPO debut.
Market Landscape
The FTX estate's exit from Anthropic arrives as frontier AI companies raise capital at valuations that dwarf their earlier rounds. Early strategic investors that held minority stakes are now realizing gains tied to the sector's rapid repricing.
Investors gaining exposure to Anthropic through a public listing would be buying into a company valued near $1.4 trillion at the top of the planned range. Retail buyers should weigh that valuation against the company's earlier private pricing when deciding whether to participate.
The takeaway
Early stakes in fast-growing private companies can produce outsized returns for holders who sell before a public listing reprices them. Investors should review how valuation shifts between private rounds and IPO pricing before committing capital.
What happens next
Anthropic's Nasdaq IPO is projected to debut around November 19, 2026, with shares priced between $70 and $78.
Further reading
For broader coverage of how frontier AI firms are financing their growth, see Artificial Intelligence.
Live Poll
Do you trust big AI companies to share their financial gains fairly with the public?
