With OpenAI reportedly close to finalizing a $100 billion fundraising round and Anthropic having just secured $30 billion, the scale of capital flowing into frontier AI labs is reshaping long-standing venture capital norms, particularly around exclusivity and investor loyalty.
At least a dozen direct OpenAI investors were also announced as backers in Anthropic’s latest raise, including Founders Fund, ICONIQ Capital, Insight Partners, and Sequoia Capital. The overlap highlights how competitive lines are blurring as AI funding rounds reach unprecedented size.
Some crossover is expected among hedge funds and asset managers, whose mandates often include public equities across competing companies. Firms such as D1, Fidelity, and TPG fit that model. However, the presence of venture capital firms, traditionally positioned as long-term, founder-aligned partners, has raised questions inside the industry.
One notable case involves BlackRock. Affiliated funds participated in Anthropic’s round even though BlackRock senior managing director Adebayo Ogunlesi serves on OpenAI’s board. While large asset managers operate across multiple funds with distinct strategies, the optics underscore the increasingly complex web of relationships in AI finance.
Venture Norms Under Pressure
Venture capital has historically operated on the premise that firms back one category leader and support it against rivals. Investors often receive access to confidential operating data and may hold board seats, creating fiduciary responsibilities that complicate dual exposure.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, himself a former president of Y Combinator, is familiar with these dynamics. In 2024, reports suggested Altman provided investors with a list of companies he viewed as direct competitors, including Anthropic, xAI, and Safe Superintelligence. According to court documents cited by Business Insider, Altman acknowledged telling investors that non-passive investments in rivals could result in restricted access to OpenAI’s confidential information, though he denied barring participation outright.
The unprecedented scale of AI capital needs may be overriding older conventions. Frontier labs are raising sums comparable to sovereign-scale infrastructure projects, largely driven by data center expansion and compute demand. For many investors, the opportunity size may outweigh concerns about exclusivity.
Still, not all firms are straddling both camps. Andreessen Horowitz backs OpenAI but not Anthropic, while Menlo Ventures supports Anthropic but not OpenAI. Others, including Bessemer Venture Partners, General Catalyst, and Greenoaks, appear to maintain single-company exposure.
The shift signals a broader recalibration in venture strategy. As AI labs absorb record amounts of capital and reshape the technology stack, traditional conflict-of-interest boundaries are becoming more fluid.
For founders negotiating term sheets, investor overlap may now require closer scrutiny. In the era of $30 billion and $100 billion funding rounds, loyalty may be giving way to allocation strategy and the competitive landscape is adjusting accordingly.
