The sale of FTX’s $500 million stake in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic has reportedly been put on hold, adding a potential delay to the bankrupt crypto exchange’s efforts to fill a $2 billion hole remaining in its balance sheet.
The pause in the sale was initiated by FTX’s advisory investment bank, Parella Weinberg Partners, despite multiple interested parties willing to acquire FTX’s stake in Anthropic, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The sale of FTX’s stake in Anthropic holds substantial monetary recovery potential for the crypto exchange. FTX’s restructuring chief, John Ray, revealed in a recent report that approximately $7 billion out of the alleged $8.7 billion in misappropriated user funds had been recovered.
Prior to the sale’s pause, several buyers had expressed interest in acquiring FTX’s share of Anthropic, which FTX held at a value of $500 million at the time of its bankruptcy in November.
Anthropic’s valuation has seen a significant surge, reaching $4.6 billion in its latest funding round on May 23. The company secured $450 million during the funding round, further solidifying its position in the booming AI market.
Anthropic offers an AI chatbot named “Claude,” which boasts diverse applications such as sales, customer service, and web searches.
FTX’s stake in Anthropic represented one of its largest holdings, following its reported $1.15 billion investment in crypto miner Genesis Digital Assets.
