Anthropic IPO Approaching: How Alphabet and Amazon Benefit as Major Investors

Anthropic is preparing for an initial public offering in autumn 2026 that, with a targeted valuation of 2 trillion US dollars and planned proceeds of 100 billion US dollars, would set new records in the capital markets. The AI company could thereby surpass the previous IPO record holder SpaceX, which went public in June 2026 with a valuation of 1.77 trillion US dollars and raised 86 billion US dollars.

Amazon invested 18 billion US dollars in Anthropic

According to its own statement of September 12, 2026, Amazon has invested approximately 18 billion US dollars in Anthropic through preferred shares and convertible bonds. The e-commerce and cloud computing company additionally has a further investment volume of 15 billion US dollars that is tied to Anthropic achieving certain commercial milestones. Alphabet also holds a substantial stake in the AI startup, which was built through direct investments and partnerships.

A convertible bond is a hybrid financial instrument that initially functions as a debt security and grants the holder the right to convert the bond into shares of the issuer at a later time – typically at previously agreed-upon terms.

Unrealized gains of 50.5 billion dollars at Amazon in the second quarter

Both technology companies marked their Anthropic stakes to fair value at the end of the second quarter of 2026, after the AI company raised new capital in that period at a valuation of 965 billion US dollars. Amazon recorded an increase in its publicly traded securities of 50.5 billion US dollars, with the majority of this increase attributable to the Anthropic stake. Alphabet reported net unrealized gains of 99 billion US dollars in the second quarter of 2026, driven both by the SpaceX IPO and the Anthropic financing round.

Potential for three-digit billion-dollar gains upon IPO

Should Anthropic double its valuation upon the planned IPO compared to the financing round in the second quarter of 2026, both companies could book additional unrealized gains of several tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of US dollars on their shares and convertible bonds. These valuation gains would be reflected directly in GAAP net income.

After the expiration of the customary lockup period – a holding period that prevents early shareholders from selling their stakes for a specified period after an IPO – Amazon and Alphabet could liquidate capital from their stakes. The released funds could be used to expand their own AI data centers, as reported on September 16, 2026.

Cloud business benefits from customer revenues

In addition to direct valuation gains from the stake, the IPO would equip Anthropic with significant new capital to be invested in further development of AI models. As a major customer of both Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services, Anthropic would benefit both cloud providers if it increases infrastructure spending. According to statements from September 16, 2026, Alphabet has already taken steps to benefit from expanded infrastructure investments by the AI company.

Timing could influence quarterly results

Shareholders of Amazon and Alphabet are likely to benefit from the Anthropic IPO, as both companies hold substantial stakes in the AI startup. The exact timing of the IPO in relation to quarterly earnings reporting could significantly impact the fourth quarter 2026 results, depending on when any valuation gains are recorded in the balance sheet. Amazon trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol AMZN, Alphabet under the symbols GOOG and GOOGL.