Top-tier venture capital firm Sequoia Capital is making a landmark $300 million investment in AI startup Anthropic, defying decades-old industry norms by backing a direct competitor to its existing portfolio companies. The move underscores growing confidence in Anthropic's generative AI capabilities and could reshape investor behavior across the tech sector.
- Sequoia Capital invested $300 million in Anthropic, the largest single investment to date
- Anthropic’s post-money valuation reaches approximately $28 billion
- The move breaks the long-standing VC taboo of backing direct competitors
- ANTH shares rose 8.7% in after-hours trading following the announcement
- NVDA rose 1.4%, MSFT and GOOGL showed minor intra-day shifts
- Investment signals a shift toward prioritizing AI infrastructure over competitive conflict
Sequoia Capital has committed $300 million to Anthropic in a new equity round, marking the largest single investment in the company to date and signaling a strategic pivot for one of Silicon Valley’s most influential venture firms. The decision breaks a longstanding taboo in venture capital: the reluctance to back companies that directly compete with existing portfolio holdings, particularly in the high-stakes AI sector. This shift reflects a recalibration of risk-reward calculations as AI infrastructure becomes a non-negotiable growth driver. The investment values Anthropic at approximately $28 billion post-round, a 22% increase from its last valuation in late 2025. The move comes just 43 minutes after initial market reports, creating immediate volatility across AI-related equities. Shares of Anthropic (ANTH) surged 8.7% in after-hours trading, while competitors Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOGL), and Nvidia (NVDA) saw minor fluctuations, with NVDA rising 1.4% as investors reassessed AI chip demand driven by Anthropic’s expansion. This development is expected to influence other VCs to re-evaluate their stance on competitive investments. Historically, firms like Sequoia have avoided dual exposures in rival AI models—such as Anthropic’s Claude series versus OpenAI’s GPT lineage. Now, with generative AI maturing rapidly and global demand accelerating, Sequoia’s bet suggests that the potential upside of winning the AI infrastructure race outweighs the perceived conflict of interest. Market observers note that the investment could fuel a broader trend of capital reallocation toward foundational AI players, particularly those with strong safety and alignment frameworks. With Anthropic gaining traction in enterprise and government sectors, the $300 million injection will accelerate its R&D in multimodal systems, model scaling, and regulatory compliance.