FTX Strikes Deal to Offload Two-Thirds of Anthropic Stake for $884M

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX agreed to sell the majority of its shares in AI startup Anthropic for $884m, according to court filings from Friday.

The filing from Maarch 22 outlines the sale to 24 buyers. ATIC Third International Investment Co., an investment firm owned by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala, is acquiring the largest portion.

As per the document, ATIC agreed to acquire 16,664,167 shares of Anthropic from FTX for nearly $500m. The second largest buyer is Jane Street Global Trading, where FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried previously worked.

Additional investors include certain funds managed by Fidelity Management and The Ford Foundation.

WSJ: FTX has struck $884 million in deals with two dozen buyers, including an Abu Dhabi investor, to sell most of its shares in Anthropic, an artificial-intelligence startup that counts Amazon and Google among its backers. FTX invests $500 million in Anthropic in 2021.…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) March 25, 2024

FTX’s Anthropic Stake Sale Awaits Final Clearance

Reports indicate that numerous sovereign wealth funds were vying for a share of FTX’s Anthropic stake. CNBC revealed last week that Saudi Arabia was excluded due to national security concerns. The kingdom has been investing heavily in tech funds to attract talent from the UAE and diversify its economy away from oil dependency.

The Anthropic stake deal is pending final approval from Judge John Dorsey, who is overseeing FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings. The deal would represent nearly two-thirds of FTX’s total shares in Anthropic if approved.

FTX’s $500M Investment in Anthropic Doubles in Value Amid AI Surge

In 2021, FTX and its sister firm Alameda invested $500m in the AI firm, holding a 7.84% stake. The subsequent surge in the artificial intelligence sector, driven in part by the popularity of ChatGPT, led to a doubling in the value of these shares.

In February, a New York bankruptcy judge granted permission for the estate to sell the shares after FTX reached a compromise in court with a group of customers who had initially opposed the sale.

Anthropic has secured significant funding, totaling around $7b, from major tech players like Amazon, Alphabet, and Salesforce.

For FTX, the Anthropic share sale marks a significant victory. In January, the estate committed to reimbursing customers of the defunct exchange in full. It promised to return 100% of the value of their assets at the time of the exchange’s collapse.