Eric Schmidt’s 1% Anthropic stake could be worth tens of billions at IPO

Former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt stands to collect a massive individual payday as Anthropic PBC accelerates toward an initial public offering, with his roughly one percent stake potentially soaring into tens of billions of dollars, according to people familiar with the matter.

Schmidt originally poured tens of millions of dollars into Anthropic's Series A fundraising round in 2021, when data company Pitchbook valued the startup at $461 million. Prospective investors participating in recent pre-IPO meetings in San Francisco have discussed valuations ranging from $1.5 trillion to the $1.8-trillion to $2-trillion ballpark, according to the Los Angeles Times and Central Oregon Daily. At the upper boundary of those estimates, Schmidt’s stake would scale by more than 4,300 times its original value, pushing his total net worth up by roughly one-third, as reported by the Times. Even if the offering values the firm at its most recent private funding level of $965 billion, Schmidt would still net an additional fortune.

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The impending public market debut arrives alongside newly public financial disclosures that highlight both explosive growth and staggering capital outlays. According to a draft IPO prospectus reviewed by the Wall Street Journal and reported by Reuters, Anthropic recorded a net loss exceeding $80 billion during the first half of 2026. The vast majority of that figure—$72 billion—stemmed from non-operating accounting charges tied to shifts in the value of convertible notes and other financial instruments issued during prior fundraising rounds, dwarfing the $13 billion net loss recorded during the corresponding period a year earlier.

At the same time, the company's top-line revenue has expanded dramatically. Anthropic generated $16.3 billion in revenue during the first six months of 2026, marking a nearly 15-fold surge from the $1.1 billion reported a year prior, according to filings highlighted by investingLive. Momentum continued into the third quarter, where revenue climbed 45% sequentially to $16.8 billion, with leadership telling investors in San Francisco that the firm achieved profitability on an adjusted basis during that three-month window, as noted by Central Oregon Daily.

Underpinning this expansion is massive infrastructure spending. Anthropic's draft prospectus revealed more than $600 billion in future computing infrastructure commitments, including noncancelable multi-year cloud agreements spanning seven to ten years with major technology providers. The obligations include $111 billion with Google, $110 billion with Amazon Web Services, and $31 billion with Microsoft, alongside up to $86 billion for Nvidia chip capacity through third-party operators and more than $160 billion dedicated to leasing Google chips via Broadcom, according to investingLive. Additional deals under negotiation could push total commitments up by another $150 billion.

Market analysts note that Anthropic's commercial structure differs notably from competitors. However, draft disclosures also emphasize risk factors, noting that two customers accounted for roughly a fifth of first-half sales, highlighting significant customer concentration (investingLive).

Broader financial conditions could also influence the public offering. As Fortune reported, macroeconomic pressures including elevated oil prices and rising 10-year Treasury yields have led investors to scrutinize private credit markets and corporate leverage standards. Tighter underwriting and increased adoption of legal protections in loan documents, such as "J. Crew blockers" appearing in half of private credit agreements, reflect a more conservative posture among lenders across the broader business environment.

Anthropic is expected to begin formally marketing its initial public offering as soon as the week of Nov. 9, positioning the company to begin public trading prior to the Thanksgiving holiday and no later than the end of the year, according to the Los Angeles Times. Additional updates regarding valuation targets and roadshow schedules are expected as the formal marketing window opens.