Google’s AI Fundraising; Anthropic’s IPO Option

How is running an AI firm like running for Congress? In either case, you have to spend half your time raising money! Take Google’s surprising announcement on Monday afternoon that it plans to raise a total of $80 billion in equity “as part of its plan to fund investments” in AI. That’s in addition to the $85 billion it has already borrowed in the past year. 

Repeatedly raising tens of billions is par for the course for AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic, whose businesses don’t turn a profit. But Google’s businesses printed $164.7 billion in cash before capital expenditures in 2025, making it one of the biggest cash machines in the world. The fact that Google has to find innovative ways to raise money is a reminder that AI development is as much a financing challenge as it is a technological one.