Three of Google's earliest outside bets, in SpaceX, Anthropic and Waymo, now carry a combined value above $350 billion after a record stock market debut.
Key Points:
- Google paid about $900 million for a SpaceX stake in 2015 that is now worth roughly $140 billion.
- The company holds close to 14% of Anthropic and a majority of Waymo, two of the hottest names in AI and robotaxis.
- Stacked together, the three holdings clear $350 billion, far beyond what Google first put in.
SpaceX IPO Swells Google Stake
SpaceX went public on the Nasdaq on Jun. 12, and the rocket maker raised about $75 billion in the largest initial public offering ever recorded. Shares climbed 19% on their first day, closing near $161 and pushing the market value above $2 trillion. The listing also made Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire.
Alphabet, Google's parent, wrote a $900 million check in 2015 for close to 7% of the company, then valued at $12 billion. That stake has now swelled to somewhere near $140 billion on paper, a return of roughly 150 times.
The ties between the two firms run deeper than the early bet. Google recently agreed to pay SpaceX about $920 million a month for AI computing power through 2029. That deal feeds revenue back to the rocket company even as Google profits from its rising shares.
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Anthropic And Waymo Bets Climb
The same pattern runs through Google's private holdings. The company holds about 14% of Anthropic, maker of the Claude chatbot, a stake worth roughly $135 billion at the lab's latest $965 billion valuation.
Google has since committed up to $40 billion more to Anthropic, deepening one of the biggest bets in AI. A separate February round valued Waymo, the robotaxi arm it still controls, at $126 billion. That unit now runs paid driverless rides across several U.S. cities and is eyeing Tokyo and London.
Returns Reshape Alphabet's Books
Investors have begun treating Alphabet partly as a venture fund. Its private marks swing every quarter, and a single revaluation can rival the profit from the search business.
The effect already shows in the accounts. Alphabet posted a record profit in the first quarter of 2026, and a large share of it came from writing up private stakes led by Anthropic rather than from selling ads. The SpaceX listing now adds a public, and far more volatile, line to that same ledger.
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