Saudi Investors Banned from FTX’s Anthropic Stake Offer Over National Security

Despite FTX’s insolvency, artificial intelligence firm Anthropic has refused to take financing from Saudi Arabia. The Saudis own 8% of Anthropic’s shares.

In response to these worries, Anthropic’s executives have reportedly told CNBC that Saudi Arabia would not be involved.

Three years ago, Bankman-Fried paid $500 million to purchase the interest. A recent uptick in interest in artificial intelligence has driven up the value of the 8% share to more than $1 billion.

The sources, who have asked to remain anonymous owing to the sensitive nature of the discussions, say that the sale of the share will take place within the next few weeks and that the money will go toward repaying FTX consumers.

According to sources, Anthropic is selling class B shares, which do not have voting rights, for $18.4 billion, which is the most current value.

Big tech companies like Amazon, Alphabet, and Salesforce have contributed almost $7 billion to Anthropic in the last several years.

There is direct competition between OpenAI’s ChatGPT and the company’s sophisticated language model. Dario and Daniela Amodei, founders, have the right to question possible investors, but they aren’t participating in the fundraising or talks over FTX’s share at the moment.

The Amodei siblings became acquainted with Bankman-Fried by means of the notion of “effective altruism,” which entails the optimization of wealth for social purposes.

Anthropic has taken a firm stance against taking investments from Saudi Arabia, but it has no intention of taking on other sovereign wealth funds, such as Mubadala in the UAE.

One rumor has it that the UAE-based Mubadala is seriously contemplating putting funds into Anthropic. Investors outside of Amazon and Alphabet who have just joined Anthropic’s syndicate are among those who may purchase FTX shares.

Special purpose vehicles (SPVs) enable several investors to combine their funds, and FTX is marketing its share via them.

Three sources have confirmed that SPVs have contacted venture firms via email in an effort to enlist their help in the sale.

The financial firm Perella Weinberg is handling the deal on FTX’s behalf. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia has been pouring funds into IT in an effort to wean the country off of its reliance on oil exports. PIF’s asset value exceeds $900 billion.

According to CNBC’s reporting based on people familiar with the topic, the fund is reportedly in talks with venture capital company Andreessen Horowitz to establish a $40 billion fund specifically for investments in artificial intelligence.

Aiming to modernize the economy and increase global financial relations, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious “Vision 2030 Initiative” is sure to make waves.

In addition to its substantial commitments to professional soccer and tennis, PIF has invested in Uber and supported the LIV golf league.

Dual-use technology, which includes both civilian and military software and hardware, may be at the root of Anthropic’s national security worries with Saudi Arabia.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) shares this concern and has the power to prohibit investments from certain countries in particular industries.

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