OpenAI and Anthropic they fought for employees, customers and public attention. Rival AI labs have argued on opposing sides of policy proposals, and their CEOs were the only ones who didn’t shake hands with a dozen industry leaders at a business summit earlier this year. But they do have one massive area of overlap: their investors.
Over the past few years, about 90 venture capital firms and other money managers have invested in both OpenAI and Anthropic, according to a WIRED analysis of data from PitchBook, a platform that tracks startup investments. Data shows that OpenAI shares approximately 42 percent of its total investors with Anthropic. Roughly a third of Anthropic’s investors are also OpenAI supporters, including immense companies such as Sequoia Capital, Greylock, Founders Fund, Redpoint Ventures, Emerson Collective and Sound Ventures.
Last week, Anthropic created collection announcement which listed 31 investors, at least 13 of whom have shares in OpenAI, according to PitchBook data and WIRED reporting. The number of common investors may be underestimated because collecting information on private investments is challenging. WIRED identified at least several investors in PitchBook data who are not on OpenAI’s roster, including: Amazon.
The degree of overlap is astonishing for two fierce competitors who started fundraising several years apart. Three experts who study the venture capital industry called this prevalence unusual, even unprecedented. This phenomenon reflects the recent evolution of the venture capital industry, the emergence of two extraordinary companies that have raised unprecedented sums of money, and the wide-open competition between them and others in the field of artificial intelligence.
“The ownership structure you see today gives a real insight into how sophisticated investors view this market, and the answer seems to be that few are convinced that this will be a winner-takes-all market, and if so, who will be the dominant players,” says Tom Nicholas, Harvard Business School professor and author of the book VC: American History.
The investor crossover is also noteworthy, as Anthropic and OpenAI aim to debut on the stock exchange this year. Initial public offerings are often an opportunity for investors to realize profits from owning a startup. But last yearonly two-thirds of IPOs saw a significant raise in value. By betting on both OpenAI and Anthropic, investors can double their chances of success.
“Rather than looking at these companies as overlapping technologies, these large investors are protecting their ability to generate profits,” says Kyle Stanford, director of venture capital research at PitchBook.
OpenAI and Anthropic did not respond to requests for comment. Several venture capital firms that have invested in OpenAI and Anthropic also declined or did not respond to requests for comment on why they decided to back both.
Several spoke only on the condition of anonymity to avoid jeopardizing industry relationships, and each called the matchup an investment opportunity with OpenAI and Anthropic unlike any they had encountered before.
Historically, venture capital firms have concentrated their bets on one company in an area of competition that should be avoided conflicts of interestsays Stanford. Companies sometimes share proprietary information with investors or look to them for advice or management, and owning shares in rivals encourages awkward conversations.