Qatar backs Claude AI-maker Anthropic in $13B funding round
The Qatar Investment Authority was named among the investors in Anthropic’s $13 billion funding round, which valued the AI startup at $183 billion, in a sign that the maker of the Claude large language models may be willing to entertain more backing from the Gulf.
The Series F round, led by San Francisco-based investment firm ICONIQ, and co-led by Fidelity Management & Research and Lightspeed Venture Partners, saw Anthropic double its valuation from $61.5 billion in March this year.
Significantly, while QIA was the only Gulf investor on the list of 20 shared by Anthropic on Tuesday, its involvement may be a sign that CEO Dario Amodei is softening his stance on accepting backing from Middle Eastern funds, which have not been involved in previous rounds, Bloomberg reports.
The investment propels Qatar into greater competition with its neighbors, who are pouring billions into rival AI companies. Abu Dhabi AI investment firm MGX is a major investor in OpenAI and also backs its Stargate infrastructure project, while Elon Musk’s xAI has investments from MGX and Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holdings, as well as the QIA.
QIA Head of Technology Mohammed Al-Hardan told Bloomberg that Anthropic was one of many more AI deals to come and the fund may choose to lead future funding rounds, as well as write checks for early-stage ventures. The QIA expects to do as many as 25 technology deals this year and next – double its normal average.
“You would see us doing it all,” he said. “The luxury that we have — that the other funds don’t have — is that, because our mandate is so wide, we get to choose.”