Gulf state capital may drive Anthropic’s $150B valuation bid

Anthropic is gearing up for a landmark funding round, seeking a valuation that could surpass $150 billion, more than double its price tag from just a few months ago. Reports suggest that sovereign wealth funds from the Gulf may play a decisive role in this funding surge.

The San Francisco startup, which has seen annual recurring revenue explode from $1 billion to over $4 billion since early 2025, is looking to raise $3–5 billion in fresh capital. This dramatic growth is fueling investor interest and intensifying a global competition for AI dominance.

Valuation Surge Fueled by AI Demand

In just the past month, Anthropic’s annualized revenue has leapt from $3 billion to $4 billion, signaling a rare acceleration in enterprise AI adoption. About 80% of the company's revenue now comes from business subscriptions, with its Claude model especially strong in coding and productivity applications for large organizations.

Despite the breathtaking numbers, the company remains unprofitable, spending aggressively on model development and cloud infrastructure. Still, Anthropic’s trajectory positions it among the world's most valuable private AI startups, challenging titans like OpenAI for market leadership.

Did you know?
Abu Dhabi’s MGX acquired an 8% stake in Anthropic for $1.3B in 2023; at a $150B valuation, that stake would be worth over $12 billion, an almost tenfold gain in two years.

A Strategic Pivot to Gulf State Capital

A recently leaked Slack message from CEO Dario Amodei revealed a major shift: Anthropic now actively seeks Middle Eastern investment, reversing an earlier stance of ethical caution. Amodei emphasized the “truly giant amount of capital in the Middle East, easily $100B or more,” as a key to staying ahead in the AI arms race.

In 2024, Anthropic rejected Saudi funding over national security concerns. Now, the strategy is to allow “narrowly scoped and purely financial” Gulf investments—letting in capital without surrendering operational control but acknowledging the challenge of avoiding soft power influence long term.

MGX: Abu Dhabi’s Growing Stake

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign AI investment fund MGX has emerged as a critical player in the Anthropic story. After buying FTX’s former 8% stake for $1.3 billion in 2023, MGX could now see that holding worth over $12 billion if the $150B valuation is realized.

MGX’s involvement reflects a broader move by Gulf funds to secure influence in advanced technology, transforming the geopolitics of the AI era. MGX is now reportedly angling for a leading role in the new capital round, which would cement Abu Dhabi as a power broker in global AI development.

Competitive Pressure Shapes Funding Strategies

The rush to secure Gulf investment is not unique to Anthropic. Rival OpenAI has partnered with UAE-backed ventures for its $500 billion Stargate supercomputing project, while Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Humain has snapped up tens of thousands of Nvidia AI chips and struck deals with AWS and AMD.

Anthropic’s absence from high-profile summits, such as the recent Middle East tech delegation led by President Trump and attended by Elon Musk and Sam Altman, contributed to the urgency behind this financial pivot. Dario Amodei described the current environment as a “race to the bottom” for international capital with no competitor able to risk falling behind.

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Ethical Trade-offs in the AI Race

Amodei’s internal message did not shy from the ethical dilemmas that come with tapping Gulf state funds. He openly weighed the competitive imperative against the possibility of “enriching dictators,” promising that investments would be structured for maximum insulation—but warning that soft power influence could nonetheless emerge over time.

The company’s approach is to keep these investments “purely financial,” with strict limits on operational input or board access. However, in a fiercely competitive landscape, access to capital increasingly outweighs philosophical red lines for ambitious startups.

Forward-Looking Stakes for Global AI

Anthropic’s upcoming funding round, and the Gulf state capital behind it, will shape not just a company’s balance sheet but the balance of power in AI worldwide. As billion-dollar deals redraw the tech investment map, the ethical and strategic trade-offs made today could define the industry for years to come.