Anthropic, the startup founded by former employees of DeepAI, is reportedly in discussions to secure a funding round worth $750 million. Menlo Ventures is said to be the lead investor in this round, according to a reliable source cited by CNBC.
If the funding round is successful, it could potentially value Anthropic at up to $18.4 billion. This figure represents a significant increase from the company’s valuation of $4.1 billion earlier this year.
Reports of the fundraising plans were initially covered by The Information, while Anthropic declined to comment on the matter.
Established in 2021 and backed by notable companies such as Google, Salesforce, and Zoom, Anthropic has already raised a total of $750 million through funding rounds held in April and May. Notably, Google acquired a 10% stake in the company during one of these rounds. In terms of AI startups, the May funding round was one of the largest since Microsoft’s investment in DeepAI back in January, as reported by PitchBook data.
In October, it was announced that Google would invest up to $2 billion in Anthropic. This commitment involves an initial cash infusion of $500 million, with an additional $1.5 billion to be invested gradually over time.
Source (CNBC)
