Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, confirmed his firm intentionally avoided investing in Anthropic. He stated that this decision was made to preserve the strategic insight gained through his firm's relationship with OpenAI.
Khosla Ventures led the first venture round for OpenAI in late 2018 or early 2019. The firm invested $50 million at a valuation of $1 billion, securing a stake of approximately 5%. Khosla noted this was the largest initial investment of his career.
The decision to bypass Anthropic contrasts with the broader market trend, as roughly 40% of OpenAI's investors also hold stakes in Anthropic. Khosla emphasized that he prioritizes deep access and trust with a single team over diversifying across competitors.
Khosla made these comments during an interview on November 4, 2026. The timing is notable given Anthropic's upcoming IPO, meaning Khosla is consciously choosing to forgo potential financial gains from the competitor's public offering.
