FTX Estate revealed a potential loss of hundreds of millions of USD when selling its stake in Anysphere for 200,000 USD in 2023, while the valuation of this company currently stands at 9 billion USD. Could this be FTX's biggest mistake? Let's analyze in detail.
FTX Sells Stake in Anysphere: A Wrong Decision
In April 2023, #FTX Estate sold its stake in Anysphere owned by Alameda Research (through Clifton Bay Investments LLC) for 200,000 USD, exactly the same amount invested in 2022, to raise funds to pay debts. However, Anysphere – the company developing Cursor, an AI programming assistance application – is now valued at 9 billion USD, making the value of FTX's stake previously estimated at 500 million USD, resulting in a potential loss of hundreds of millions USD.
Anysphere, founded in 2022, is experiencing extraordinary growth:
October 2023: Raised 8 million USD (seed round).
August 2024: 60 million USD (Series A).
December 2024: 105 million USD (Series B), valuation 2.5 billion USD.
Early this week: 900 million USD (led by Thrive Capital, with participation from a16z and Accel), valuation 9 billion USD.
Annual recurring revenue reached 200 million USD in April, making Anysphere one of the fastest-growing software companies.
Missed Opportunities with Anthropic
Anysphere is not the only case. In 2021, FTX invested 500 million USD in Anthropic, owning 8% of the shares. After the bankruptcy in 2022, FTX liquidated:
March 2024: Sold 2/3 of the stake, raising 884 million USD (Abu Dhabi fund purchased).
June 2024: Sold the remaining 15 million shares, raising 450 million USD.
In total, FTX raised 1.3 billion USD from Anthropic to help pay debts. But if held, this stake is now worth 5 billion USD, as Anthropic reached a valuation of 61.5 billion USD after the Series E fundraising round (3.5 billion USD).
Impact on the Crypto Market
This event provides many signals:
Increased confidence in AI-blockchain: Anysphere and Anthropic show the potential of combining AI and blockchain, supporting projects like Ethereum (1,800 USD, soon upgrading to Fusaka).
Investment warning: FTX's hasty decision to sell highlights the importance of a long-term strategy, especially when crypto fund inflows reached 3.4 billion USD last week.
Market boost: Bitcoin ETF (attracting 1.8 billion USD last week) and a forecast of accumulating 330 billion USD into Bitcoin by 2029 (Bernstein) continue to strengthen the trend.
Future Prospects
The mistake of FTX shows the potential of AI in digital technology. If crypto companies leverage this well, the sector could explode in the next 2-3 years, especially as AI-blockchain increasingly converges, as predicted by CZ (Binance).
Conclusion: Has FTX Learned a Costly Lesson?
FTX 'sold hastily' its stake #Anysphere for 200,000 USD, missing out on a value of 500 million USD when the valuation reached 9 billion USD, and incurred a loss of 3.7 billion USD from Anthropic (now valued at 5 billion USD). This mistake emphasizes the importance of long-term vision in crypto and AI investments. Investors should closely monitor to avoid repeating similar mistakes.
Risk warning: Crypto investment carries high risks due to price volatility and legal uncertainties. Please consider carefully before participating.