FTX Suspends Sale of $500M Anthropic Investment Amid Ongoing Recovery Efforts

Jimmy Aki
Last Updated:

Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.

Defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX has halted the sale of its $500 million stake in Anthropic, an emerging artificial intelligence (AI) company.

With the recovery of missing funds underway, analysts believe the sale suspension comes into play to generate more revenue due to the current boom in the growth and adoption of AI.

Could Anthropic Become FTX Most Valuable Investment?

According to Bloomberg’s recent report, FTX advisory investment bank, Parella Weinberg Partners, has communicated its decision to abruptly halt the sale of their $500M Anthropic stake to multiple buyers.

The decision to suspend the sale came a few months after the investment bank provided potential buyers with private information about the Anthropic stake.

Before the pause, several retail and institutional companies had expressed strong interest in bidding for the stake due to the current rise and high-speed permeation of the AI industry.

Perella Weinberg Partners reportedly had plans to successfully dispose of FTX stake, expecting to generate “nine figures.”

Business experts believe the sudden turn of events may be triggered by FTX’s valuation of the AI market, Anthropic exponential success, and ongoing recovery of misappropriated funds worth over $8 billion.

Since Anthropic launch in 2021, the generative artificial intelligence (AI) company has skyrocketed, raising over $450 million to power the development of a built-own AI bot, dubbed “Claude,” on May 23.

Five days after, the AI platform stated it had once again generated $124 million to build more prototypes of reliable and steerable generative AI systems.

Anthropic has partnered with leading multinational tech firms, including Scale, Slack, Google Cloud, and its latest, Zoom, to create AI products focused on core productivity and safety.

The exponential growth of Anthropic has generated the interest of potential investors and pre-existing investors, notably FTX, to hold their stake to generate higher returns.

According to Semafor’s June report, the AI company is now valued at $4.6 billion after raising an astounding $750 million in venture money in a few months.

An increase in Anthropic valuation signals a potential increase in FTX’s stake revenue which could turn out to be their biggest investment ever and act as a continuous money source to pay creditors.

$500M Stake Impact on Customers’ Funds Recovery

On June 27, FTX’s new management team, tasked with recovering over $8 billion missing customer deposits and corporate funds, released a second investigation report that revealed the uncovering of $7 billion of liquidated.

While the search for the remaining missing funds continues, the $500 million stake in Anthropic may be the goldmine needed to clear all liabilities attached to FTX, the liquidated exchange and hedge fund platform.

When FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11, 2022, it held its investment in Anthropic stock.

The $500 million worth of Anthropic stock is the second-highest investment of FTX, topped by a $1.5 billion stake in crypto mining company Genesis Digital Assets.

AI Industry Continues to Soar

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) continues unabated, driven by ongoing innovation in intrinsic-based models, widespread adoption, and its pervasive influence.

According to Statista’s report, the AI market is projected to reach a value of $1.84 trillion by 2030.

Source: Statista

This forecast is underpinned by the growing acceptance of AI and its profound impact across various sectors such as healthcare, finance, education, technology, and more.

An illustrative example of AI’s upward trajectory is the case study of Anthropic. This startup, founded in 2021, has already achieved a valuation of $4.6 billion.

As the world transitions to Web3, AI investors may be the biggest benefactor due to the unlimited growth potential it poses.

About Jimmy Aki PRO INVESTOR

Based in the UK, Jimmy is an economic researcher with outstanding hands-on and heads-on experience in Macroeconomic finance analysis, forecasting and planning. He has honed his skills having worked cross-continental as a finance analyst, which gives him inter-cultural experience. He currently has a strong passion for regulation and macroeconomic trends as it allows him peek under the global bonnet to see how the world works.