Qatar Backs Anthropic’s Record $13B AI Round, Valuation Hits $183B
▼ Summary
– Qatar Investment Authority has joined a major $13 billion funding round for Anthropic, which now values the company at $183 billion post-money.
– The funding round was led by Iconiq Capital, Fidelity, and Lightspeed, with participation from global investors like GIC, BlackRock, and Goldman Sachs.
– UAE’s MGX was notably absent from the final investor list, despite earlier reports of its involvement in a smaller round.
– The investment follows controversy over leaked comments from Anthropic’s CEO about Middle East funding, which drew backlash from regional tech leaders.
– Anthropic has experienced rapid growth, with run-rate revenue increasing from $1 billion to over $5 billion in 2025 and strong adoption of its Claude Code tool.
The Qatar Investment Authority has become a major participant in Anthropic’s record-breaking $13 billion Series F funding round, which now values the artificial intelligence firm at a staggering $183 billion. This valuation represents a near-tripling of the company’s worth in just six months, up from $61.5 billion in March 2025.
Iconiq Capital took the lead in orchestrating the investment, with significant contributions from co-leaders Fidelity Management & Research Company and Lightspeed Venture Partners. They were joined by an influential consortium of global institutional backers, including Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, alongside financial powerhouses such as BlackRock, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
Conspicuously missing from the final list of investors was the UAE’s MGX, which had earlier been reported to be in advanced negotiations alongside QIA. Initial expectations had pointed toward a more modest funding round of $3–5 billion at a $170 billion valuation, making the final figures notably higher than anticipated.
This substantial financial endorsement arrives against a backdrop of earlier controversy. Leaked internal messages from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei had previously stirred criticism, with the executive suggesting that accepting capital from Middle Eastern sources would enrich “dictators.” Those remarks drew sharp rebukes from technology leaders across the region.
Anthropic, the creator of the widely-used Claude AI assistant, has demonstrated extraordinary commercial momentum. The company’s run-rate revenue skyrocketed from around $1 billion at the start of 2025 to exceeding $5 billion by August of the same year, positioning it among the most rapidly expanding tech enterprises ever recorded.
Krishna Rao, Chief Financial Officer at Anthropic, emphasized the significance of this growth, stating, “We are seeing exponential growth in demand across our entire customer base. This financing demonstrates investors’ extraordinary confidence in our financial performance.”
The firm now supports more than 300,000 business clients, with its large accounts, those contributing over $100,000 in yearly revenue, expanding nearly sevenfold in the past twelve months. Additionally, its Claude Code developer tool, introduced in May 2025, has already amassed over $500 million in run-rate revenue, with usage surging more than tenfold in just three months.
(Source: MENAbytes)