- Sequoia Capital is joining a huge funding round for Anthropic led by GIC and Coatue, targeting $25B+ at about a $350B valuation.
- The round includes ~$1.5B each from GIC and Coatue and up to $15B combined from Microsoft and Nvidia, with additional investors filling out the rest.
- Anthropic is leveraging rapid growth—run-rate revenue rising from roughly $1B to $5B+ in 2025—to justify the jump from its $183B September 2025 valuation.
- Sequoia’s participation is notable because it already backs OpenAI and xAI, signaling a break from the usual VC practice of avoiding direct competitor overlap as AI becomes a deep-capital race.
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The reported round reflects the extraordinary pace of expansion and valuation acceleration in the generative AI sector. In just four months since its $183 billion valuation was established in September 2025, Anthropic is on track to nearly double that figure to $350 billion. Key backers—GIC, Coatue, Microsoft, Nvidia—are anchoring a deal that would drive among the largest single private investment rounds globally. The inflow represents not just capital infusion but strategic positioning among AI incumbents.
Sequoia’s participation introduces a novel tension in venture capital. The firm already holds stakes in OpenAI and xAI, placing it in a position of supporting multiple competitors within the same sector. Traditionally, VCs avoid such overlap both for conflict-of-interest reasons and to protect access to confidential information. Sequoia’s new leadership—with Alfred Lin and Pat Grady at the helm following Roelof Botha’s departure—appears more comfortable with diversified bets in hot, frontier sectors.
For Anthropic, the implied revenue growth underpins its valuation—having grown its run-rate from about $1 billion to over $5 billion within roughly eight months in 2025. Its flagship product Claude, plus developer tools like Claude Code (over $500 million run-rate), and aggressive enterprise adoption, provide the operational justification for this capital requirement. Yet, scaling at this speed also carries execution and governance risks—including maintaining safety and alignment, retaining top AI talent, and managing expectations tied to IPO signals.
Strategically, this round is a play for market share, supply chain control (compute capacity and partnerships with Microsoft/Nvidia), and positioning ahead of an anticipated IPO. The participation of titan investors across government-linked sovereign funds, infrastructure firms, and tech giants underlines AI’s evolution into a deep-capital sport. But investors will be watching macroeconomic, regulatory, and ethical risks closely as “AI exception” valuations come under pressure.
Open questions remain: Will Anthropic’s projected 2026 revenue target—estimated by some at $26 billion—be credible? How will Sequoia manage portfolio overlap and potential conflicts tied to information access? What regulatory or geopolitical headwinds could emerge, especially concerning AI safety, export control, or competition law in U.S., EU, or Singapore?
Supporting Notes
- Funding round led by GIC (Singapore) and Coatue (USA), each contributing $1.5 billion.
- Anthropic’s valuation in this proposed round is around $350 billion—doubling from $170 billion four months prior.
- Microsoft and Nvidia are collectively committing up to $15 billion; other participants expected to contribute $10 billion or more; total round aim is $25 billion or more.
- Anthropic’s last major raise (Series F, September 2025) brought in $13 billion at a $183 billion valuation.
- Revenue growth: from ~$1 billion run-rate at start of 2025 to over $5 billion by August 2025.
- Sequoia’s involvement deviates from its historical policy of avoiding backing competitors; previously exited investments when conflicts arose (e.g., Finix vs. Stripe).
- Anthropic is preparing for an IPO, with early engagement of law firms and banks already underway.