- FTX reached an agreement to sell the majority of its stake in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic for US$884 million.
- The top buyer is a group aligned with Mubadala, a sovereign wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates.
- Additional investors include Jane Street, venture fund HOF Capital, the Ford Foundation, and funds managed by Fidelity.
The estate of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is offloading about two-thirds of its 8% stake in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic for $884 million.
Buyers
Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has struck a deal with a consortium of buyers to sell the majority of its stake in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic for US$884 million, according to a filing submitted late Friday to a Delaware court.
The filing lists a number of buyers, with the largest stake going to ATIC’s third international Investment company, a business aligned with Mubadala, a sovereign wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates. That group is purchasing nearly £500 million worth of Anthropic shares.
Jane Street, certain funds managed by Fidelity Management and Research and venture capital firm HOF Capital will also purchase shares, according to an agreement with FTX, dated March 2.
The deal has not yet been finalised and must be approved by Judge John Dorsey. Dorsey is handling FTX’s bankruptcy case in Delaware.
If approved, the sale would collectively account for nearly two-thirds of FTX’s shares in Anthropic.
Also read: FTX offers payments for lost bitcoin, ethereum 80% below current prices
The bankruptcy
Last November, Bankman Fried was convicted of seven criminal counts related to the FTX bankruptcy. His sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, with prosecutors recommending a sentence of 40 to 50 years in prison.
Under Bankman-Fried’s leadership, FTX invested US$500 million in Anthropic, which was founded by ex-OpenAI employees in 2021, before the boom in generative AI.
The company’s valuation hit US$18 billion in December 2023, which would put FTX’s roughly 8% stake at about US$1.4 billion.
