AI has no "loyalty"! Over 10 OpenAI institutional shareholders participated in the latest funding round of its "archenemy" Anthropic

As OpenAI is nearing the finalization of a new round of financing of about $100 billion, Anthropic has just completed a large financing round of approximately $30 billion; what has garnered more market attention is that at least 12 direct institutional investors of OpenAI have also appeared on the list of backers supporting Anthropic in this round of financing.

This list of institutions involved in the "dual investment" not only includes hedge funds or asset management companies like D1, Fidelity, and TPG, which are accustomed to hedging bets, but it is even more shocking that top venture capital firms such as Founders Fund, Iconiq, Insight Partners, and Sequoia Capital, which traditionally emphasize "picking sides," are also participating.

Image: Recently at the AI summit in India, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stood side by side with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei but refused to hold hands.

BlackRock's "Dual Identity"

The most striking conflict of interest comes from global asset management giant BlackRock. Although BlackRock's Senior Managing Director and Board Member Adebayo Ogunlesi currently serves on the board of OpenAI, affiliated funds under BlackRock still participated in Anthropic's $30 billion financing.

In the public market, it is common for asset management companies to hold stocks of competitors, and Microsoft's and Nvidia's extensive hedging layouts across various AI companies are well known. However, for venture capital (VC), this is a disruption of traditional practices.

VCs have always prided themselves on being "founder-friendly" and "helpful." The core logic is that when a VC holds a significant stake in a startup, they will do everything possible to assist it in combating major competitors. Additionally, as private companies, startups typically disclose confidential business data to direct investors that publicly listed companies would not.

Now, this boundary has become blurred. "If you own both OpenAI and Anthropic, who can you remain loyal to besides your own LPs (limited partners)?"

One interviewed investor candidly stated, "As long as the company does not occupy a board seat, no one sees this as harmful anymore."

OpenAI's "Blacklist"

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is well-versed in the venture capital game. As the former president of Y Combinator, he has long been aware of this trend.

According to tech media Techcrunch, Altman provided investors in 2024 with a list of OpenAI competitors he did not want them to support, which includes companies founded by former OpenAI employees such as Anthropic, xAI, and Safe SuperintelligenceAlthough Altman later denied that he would exclude investors who support competitors from future financing, he drew a red line regarding the disclosure of information involving core interests. According to documents disclosed in the lawsuit between Elon Musk and OpenAI, Altman admitted that he had explicitly informed investors:

"If non-passive investments are made, they will no longer receive confidential business information from OpenAI."

Capital Finds It Hard to Say "No"

The uniqueness of the AI industry is breaking all established patterns. Large AI laboratories are experiencing unprecedented growth while also facing a record funding gap needed to build data centers.

The article analyzes that when the demand for financing is so enormous and the potential returns could also be astronomical, it is hard to expect investors to say "no."

Nevertheless, not all venture capitalists have slid down the slope of "double betting."

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) currently supports OpenAI and has not invested in Anthropic.

• Menlo Ventures supports Anthropic and has not invested in OpenAI.

• Institutions such as Bessemer, General Catalyst, and Greenoaks currently seem to have only directly invested in one of them.

But it is undeniable that respected Silicon Valley institutions like Sequoia Capital breaking this long-standing rule marks a fundamental shift in the market environment. For founders, regardless of who the letter of intent comes from, conflict of interest policies must now become key terms to be questioned before signing