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Zoom’s $51 million bet on Anthropic is now worth up to $4 billion

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    Zoom’s $51 million investment in Anthropic starting in May 2023 could now be worth between $2 billion and $4 billion based on the AI ​​startup’s $350 billion valuation, according to Baird Analysts

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    The stake represents a potential return of 78x, making it what analysts call a “hidden gem” overshadowed by the challenges of Zoom’s core business.

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    Shares of Zoom jumped 11% Monday on the news, as investors recalibrate the company’s value beyond video conferencing.

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    As Anthropic IPO rumors intensify, Zoom’s initial bet allows it to capitalize on Claude AI’s explosive growth

Zooma discreet investment of 51 million dollars in Anthropic has just become the videoconferencing giant’s best-kept secret. Baird analysts dropped a bombshell on Monday, estimating that the 2023 stake could now be worth between $2 billion and $4 billion – a staggering 78 times return – as the AI ​​startup behind Claude hits a $350 billion valuation. The revelation sent Zoom shares up 11% and suddenly repositioned the pandemic darling as an unexpected player in the AI ​​investing contest.

Zoom just won one of the quietest victories in technology. The company that has become synonymous with video calling in the pandemic era has sat on an Anthropic investment that could eclipse its entire quarterly revenue — and almost no one has noticed until now.

Baird analysts revealed Monday that Zoom’s May 2023 investment in the AI ​​startup, hidden in a SEC Filing while $51 million in “strategic investments” increased to between $2 billion and $4 billion. It is based on AnthropicThe current valuation of $350 billion, which places the maker of Claude AI among the most valuable private companies on the planet.

“While we (and the market) have primarily focused on ZM’s ability to gradually reaccelerate revenue growth and capture AI opportunities, the more understated and hidden gem may be its $51 million investment in Anthropic in 2023,” Baird analysts wrote in a note that sent Zoom shares up 11% at market close.

The timing couldn’t be better for Zoom. After riding the pandemic wave to unprecedented heights, the company struggled to maintain momentum as workers returned to offices and competitors like Microsoft Teams and Google Meet ate into its market share. Revenue growth has slowed and the stock remains well below its 2020 highs despite recent AI-driven product updates.

But Anthropic completely changes mathematics. When the partnership was announced in May 2023It looked like a typical enterprise AI integration: Zoom would integrate Anthropic’s technology, Zoom Ventures would take a stake. The companies did not disclose investment terms and the market largely shrugged its shoulders.