Amazon's AI jackpot: Its $8 billion Anthropic holdings are now worth $74 billion

Amazon's stake in the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic has transformed into one of the most significant financial triumphs in the company's history. Originally, Amazon invested $8 billion in Anthropic, but recent evaluations indicate that this investment has skyrocketed to approximately $74 billion, as detailed in a quarterly report released at the end of April. According to the filing, as of March 31, Amazon's holdings included about $42.2 billion in convertible notes and $32 billion in nonvoting preferred stock from Anthropic. Together, these assets contributed to a total value of around $74.2 billion at that time, and there is potential for further increases in value. As Anthropic prepares for its initial public offering (IPO), Amazon's increasing stake is drawing significant attention. Just recently, Anthropic announced that it has confidentially filed for an IPO. The startup, which was valued at $61.5 billion during a funding round last year, has seen its worth soar to $965 billion, surpassing OpenAI and becoming the most valuable AI startup in the world. The financial benefits of this investment have already begun to reflect in Amazon's earnings. In the first quarter of 2026, the company reported an impressive $12.3 billion in 'Other income' attributed to the upward adjustments linked to its Anthropic investment. Prior to this, Amazon had also reported gains of approximately $3.3 billion and $4.5 billion from note conversions in the previous years. Amazon's connection with Anthropic extends beyond mere investment; it collaborates closely through Amazon Web Services (AWS), the leading cloud service provider, which offers Anthropic's AI models via its Bedrock service. This partnership not only provides Anthropic with access to essential corporate clients but also positions Amazon to benefit from Anthropic's substantial commitments to AWS's Trainium AI chip. In a demonstration of its confidence in Anthropic's future, Amazon recently expanded its investment, contributing an additional $5 billion and potentially up to $20 billion in the future. Last week, it allocated $5 billion from this commitment as part of Anthropic's latest funding initiative.