FTX’s Anthropic Investment: Beacon of Hope for Creditors

FTX’s $500 million investment in Anthropic in 2022 could be a game-changer for creditors following its OpenAI rival’s announcement that it intends to raise an additional $2 billion from Google and other companies.

According to a report by The Information, Anthropic is presently in talks with multiple investors, including tech giant Google, to launch a $2 billion funding round.

This development follows Amazon.com Inc.’s significant pledge last week to support Anthropic with up to $4 billion.

Anthropic has informed prospective investors of its intention to achieve a valuation between $20 billion and $30 billion upon the effective conclusion of this anticipated funding round.

This development is especially significant for FTX and its shareholders.

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

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

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

It is unknown at what valuation FTX acquired its stake in Anthropic; however, it is likely that Anthropic’s forthcoming funding rounds will substantially increase the company’s valuation, thereby increasing the value of FTX’s stake.

Kris Marszalek, co-founder and chief executive officer of Crypto.com, tweeted that if FTX liquidators play it smart and act in the best interests of creditors, the Anthropic stake could vastly improve the odds of recovery, with the possibility of full recovery.

When FTX filed for bankruptcy, the exchange’s deficit amounted to $9 billion. Since then, however, FTX Estate has reportedly recovered $7 billion in liquid assets, leaving $2 billion.

The investment made by FTX in Anthropic could prove highly profitable for the creditors.