Dubai investor Hussain Sajwani made more money from Anthropic in two years than his 30 years of other investments. "What I have made in 30 years, I made in Anthropic in less than two years," Sajwani said. He got into the AI firm after buying shares from the exchange FTX.
Anthropic, the AI startup behind Claude, is the hottest commodity among investors as it prepares for an IPO on Wednesday at a staggering valuation of $1.4 trillion. The Nasdaq listing is expected to turn all seven co-founders, Dario Amodei, Daniela Amodei, Tom Brown, Christopher Olah, Jared Kaplan, Jack Clark, and Sam McCandlish, into multi-billionaires, while around 50 early employees are projected to cross the $100 million threshold in stock wealth.
'Making a few billions in profit from AI'
The IPO is also expected to fill the coffers of many early investors of Anthropic. This includes Hussain Sajwani, the chairman of Dubai-based luxury real estate developer Damac Properties.
"What I have made in 30 years, I made in Anthropic in less than two years," Sajwani said while speaking at the Bloomberg Invest Dubai forum.
Sajwani said he expects his investments in artificial intelligence firms, including Anthropic, to draw billions in returns.
"Between only three companies, OpenAI and SpaceX, and Anthropic, we're making few billion dollars of profit," Sajwani said.
Hussain Sajwani's Anthropic investment
In July 2024, Damac Group announced notable investments in AI companies, including $50 million in Anthropic - as one of the top investors who have bought into the company from the cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.
The Group has also made investments in Elon Musk's xAI and in Mistral - a France-based AI company which is one of the best European open-source large-language models.
"We are excited to be part of the AI revolution and to contribute to the growth of this dynamic industry," Sajwani had said. "Our investments in companies like Mistral, Anthropic, and xAI underscore our dedication to fostering innovation and driving the next wave of technological advancements."
Who is Hussain Sajwani?
72-year-old Sajwani is the chairman of Dubai-based luxury real estate developer Damac Properties, which he founded in 2002. According to Forbes, Sajwani started out in the food services business, catering to the US military and construction giant Bechtel.
In 2001, after Dubai allowed foreigners to own property, he shifted to real estate. According to Forbes, Sajwani has a net worth of $15.3 billion, making him the 185th richest man in the world.
Damac Group is the multi-billion-dollar business conglomerate of UAE-based Hussain Sajwani. The Group's investments are divided into seven core areas: real estate, capital markets, hotels & resorts, manufacturing, catering, high-end fashion and data centres, with a global footprint extending across North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Some of the Group's most notable activities include Damac Properties, one of the region's largest property developers, the acquisition of the Italian fashion house, Roberto Cavalli and luxury Swiss jewellery brand de GRISOGONO, the 50-storey development DAMAC Towers Nine Elms in London and a luxury resort in the Maldives.