With AI, investor loyalty is (almost) dead: at least a dozen OpenAI VCs now also back Anthropic
Source: TechCrunch
The shifting landscape of AI investor loyalty
With OpenAI on the verge of finalizing a new $100 billion round, and Anthropic just closing its own monster $30 billion raise, the notion of investor “loyalty” appears to be hanging by a thread.
At least a dozen direct investors in OpenAI were announced as backers in Anthropic’s $30 billion raise earlier this month, including Founders Fund, Iconiq, Insight Partners, and Sequoia Capital.
Hedge‑fund and asset‑manager dual investments
Some dual investments are understandable when they come from hedge funds or asset managers whose primary mandate is investing in public equities, regardless of competition. Examples include D1, Fidelity, and TPG.
BlackRock’s involvement
A more surprising case is the participation of BlackRock‑affiliated funds in Anthropic’s raise, even though BlackRock’s senior managing director and board member Adebayo Ogunlesi sits on OpenAI’s board. In the world of BlackRock’s diverse fund offerings—mutual funds, closed‑ends, ETFs—such overlap is not unexpected, but it raises questions about conflict of interest.
Venture‑capital norms under pressure
Traditionally, venture‑capital firms market themselves as “founder‑friendly” and “helpful,” implying that when a VC buys a significant stake, it will support the startup against rivals. When a firm holds stakes in both OpenAI and Anthropic, that premise becomes murky.
Startups are private companies that share confidential business information with their direct investors. VCs often take board seats, adding a fiduciary layer to the relationship.
Sam Altman’s rival list
Sam Altman, a former president of Y Combinator, is well aware of these dynamics. In 2024, he reportedly gave his investors a list of OpenAI rivals—companies launched by former OpenAI staff, including Anthropic, xAI, and Safe Superintelligence—that he did not want them to back.
Altman later denied that investors would be barred from future rounds for investing in those rivals, but he did acknowledge that “non‑passive investments” could lead to the loss of OpenAI’s confidential information, according to documents in the Musk‑OpenAI lawsuit and Business Insider reporting.
Record‑breaking funding and its implications
AI labs are raising unprecedented sums, driven by rapid growth and massive data‑center needs. When capital requirements are enormous and potential returns are huge, the incentive to say “no” diminishes.
Investors still adhering to the old rule
Not all venture investors have crossed the line. For example, Andreessen Horowitz backs OpenAI but not (yet) Anthropic, while Menlo Ventures backs Anthropic but not (yet) OpenAI. Our research identified roughly a dozen investors that appear to have stakes in only one of the two companies.
Other single‑company backers include Bessemer Venture Partners, General Catalyst, and Greenoaks.
The broader significance
The fact that respected firms such as Sequoia are now investing in rivals—as reported by TechCrunch—signals a shift in the industry’s unwritten rule against backing direct competitors. One investor we contacted simply shrugged, noting that as long as the firm does not hold a board seat, the perceived conflict is minimal.
Looking ahead
Conflict‑of‑interest policies are likely to become a standard discussion point for founders before signing term sheets, regardless of the investor’s reputation. The era of strict “loyalty” between venture capitalists and AI startups appears to be waning.