Amazon-backed Anthropic (AMZN) is close to raising between $3 billion and $5 billion in new funding that would value the AI startup at about $170 billion, according to Bloomberg. Indeed, Iconiq Capital is leading the round, and a second lead investor may join. Discussions have included sovereign wealth funds such as Qatar Investment Authority and Singapore’s GIC, according to the report.
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If completed, the deal would nearly triple Anthropic’s valuation from $61.5 billion in March, when it raised $3.5 billion in a round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. That earlier round also included Bessemer Venture Partners, Cisco Investments (CSCO), D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity, General Catalyst, Jane Street, Menlo Ventures, and Salesforce Ventures (CRM). The sharp rise in valuation shows just how much demand there is for large language models and the massive amount of money that investors are willing to pour into top AI companies.
Nevertheless, despite its focus on AI safety, Anthropic faces scrutiny over its funding sources. In fact, Wired reported that CEO Dario Amodei told employees he is “not thrilled” about taking money from sovereign wealth funds tied to authoritarian governments, but admitted that the company needs large amounts of capital to compete. “Unfortunately, I think ‘No bad person should ever benefit from our success’ is a pretty difficult principle to run a business on,” Amodei wrote in a leaked memo, which highlights the tension between ethical concerns and the high costs of AI development.
What Is the Price Target for AMZN Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on Amazon stock based on 44 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months. Furthermore, the average AMZN stock price target of $259.39 per share implies 12.3% upside potential from current levels.
