Tech giants outperform vcs in anthropic's IPO windfall

Anthropic's upcoming IPO is expected to deliver substantial returns to venture capital firms, with Menlo Ventures, Sequoia, and others poised to gain billions. However, Amazon, which invested heavily in the AI company, is likely the largest financial beneficiary. Amazon's $18 billion stake includes convertible notes valued at $97.9 billion as of June 30, 2026, and nonvoting preferred stock. The company also stands to earn $110 billion in AWS revenue over the next decade. Google, with a 5.6% stake, is set to benefit from cloud deals worth $114 billion through 2033. The S-1 highlights that while VCs gain significantly, tech giants like Amazon, which backed Anthropic early, may reap the biggest rewards. Amazon's convertible notes could convert into up to 1.84 billion shares, though a cap limits its stake to 12% of partially diluted shares. The IPO also raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest as cloud providers like Amazon and Google develop competing AI models. The S-1 warns that some cloud providers, including Amazon and Google, may not always align with Anthropic's interests. Amazon's investment in Anthropic began in 2023 with a $4 billion commitment, followed by additional investments totaling $10 billion in nonvoting preferred stock. The company's total investment in Anthropic now stands at around $18 billion. Anthropic's valuation at $965 billion means even a small stake is worth billions, with Amazon's $6.2 billion in convertible notes becoming a $97.9 billion asset. The company recorded a $72.4 billion non-cash charge for the fair value of these notes in the first half of 2026.