FTX’s $500 Million Investment in OpenAI Rival Offers Hope for Creditors

FTX’s $500 million investment in Anthropic in 2022 could potentially become a game-changer for creditors after OpenAI rival revealed its intention to raise another $2 billion from Google and other firms.

According to The Information report, Anthropic is currently in discussions with various investors, including tech giant Google, to initiate a new funding round of a whopping $2 billion.

This development follows Amazon.com Inc.’s significant commitment just last week, pledging up to $4 billion to back Anthropic.

Anthropic has informed potential investors of its intention to attain a valuation ranging from $20 billion to $30 billion upon the successful completion of this anticipated funding round.

Anthropic Sparks Hope for FTX Creditors 

This development is of particular significance to FTX and its investors. 

FTX and its affiliated hedge fund, Alameda, had injected $500 million into Anthropic, as revealed in an internal document distributed before the bankruptcy filing in November, as reported by Bloomberg.

FTX’s $500 million investment, once a source of uncertainty amid Anthropic’s bankruptcy proceedings, is now poised to potentially yield substantial returns. 

As reported earlier in June, FTX had paused its sale of Anthropic shares during bankruptcy proceedings. 

Though it is unclear at what valuation FTX acquired its stake in Anthropic, it is likely that upcoming funding rounds of Anthropic will raise the company’s valuation by manifolds, raising the value of FTX’s stake.

Kris Marszalek, co-founder and CEO of Crypto.com, tweeted that if FTX liquidators play it smart and act in the interest of creditors, the Anthropic stake could vastly improve the recovery chances, with potential of full recovery. 

When FTX filed for bankruptcy, the hole in the exchange was equivalent to $9 billion. However, since then FTX estate has recovered a reported “$7B in liquid assets so far”, leaving $2 billion. FTX’s investment in Anthropic could prove to be highly fruitful for the creditors.