Anthropic eyes $5B funding round that could push valuation to $170B despite CEO's concerns over ties to authoritarian investors

Anthropic is reportedly close to finalizing a $3 billion to $5 billion funding round that would value the large language model developer at $170 billion, according to a Bloomberg report. The round is being led by Iconiq Capital, with potential for a second lead investor to join. The company has also engaged in discussions with Qatar Investment Authority and GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, as part of the financing effort. If completed, the deal would nearly triple Anthropic’s valuation, which stood at $61.5 billion following a $3.5 billion funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners in March. Other investors in that round included Bessemer Venture Partners, Cisco Investments, D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, General Catalyst, Jane Street, Menlo Ventures, and Salesforce Ventures. Despite its focus on developing AI models with a strong emphasis on safety, Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, recently expressed concerns in a memo to employees, as reported by Wired. He stated he is “not thrilled” about accepting funding from sovereign wealth funds linked to authoritarian governments. Amodei noted that the company has had to seek capital from Middle Eastern sources to keep up with the high costs of AI development. In a leaked memo, Amodei wrote, “Unfortunately, I think ‘No bad person should ever benefit from our success’ is a pretty difficult principle to run a business on.” He acknowledged the challenges of balancing ethical concerns with financial realities in the rapidly evolving AI industry. Anthropic has not yet commented publicly on the report. The company’s decision to pursue this round highlights the increasing financial demands of building and maintaining cutting-edge AI models, as well as the broader trend of tech firms turning to global investors to sustain growth.