Bankers Are Lining Up Buyers for FTX’s 8% Stake in AI Startup Anthropic: Report

FTX’s slice of artificial intelligence firm Anthropic is up for sale, and global investors including sovereign wealth funds are lining up for the chance to purchase the shares, according to a new report from CNBC citing unnamed sources.

The sale is expected to wrap up in the next few weeks, according to the report, and proceeds will be used to pay back FTX investors.

Lawyers for FTX said in January the defunct exchange expects to be able to pay back customers 100% of the value of their holdings at the time of the bankruptcy – a fact disgraced founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has attempted to use to his advantage in advocating for a significantly shorter sentence than the 40-50 years recommended by federal prosecutors.

FTX and Alameda jointly purchased an 8% stake in Open-AI competitor Anthropic for $500 million in 2021. Today, those shares are reportedly worth an estimated $1 billion. The class B shares do not come with voting rights.

The FTX estate got the go-ahead from a New York bankruptcy court to sell the shares in February. An earlier attempt to sell the shares in June 2023 ultimately fell through after months of due diligence stalled.

According to CNBC’s report, Anthropic will not consider allowing any investment from Saudi Arabia due to national security concerns, but has not ruled out investments from other sovereign wealth funds including the United Arab Emirates’ Mubadala.