SK Telecom has made a follow-on investment in Anthropic, the U.S. company behind the Claude AI models, choosing to deepen the relationship rather than cash out ahead of Anthropic's expected initial public offering — a listing that could sharply raise the value of SKT's holding. The decision is the story: SKT is sitting on a stake that has multiplied many times over on paper, and rather than sell into the IPO, it bought more.
CEO Jung Jae-heon told reporters at NTT's headquarters in Tokyo on June 10 that, as an early backer, SKT was offered the chance to invest again and took part in Anthropic's recent funding round. He said the company faces no financial pressure to sell and sees continued room to cooperate, so it has no plans to offload the stake immediately. Rather than chase a profit from a successful IPO, he said, SKT judged it better to keep investing and maintain the partnership. The exact size of the additional investment was not disclosed.
The cooperation is not abstract. Jung said SKT and Anthropic are working together on security — using AI to detect and defend against software vulnerabilities before they can be exploited — and that the effort had recently made positive progress. He framed the company's first principle of investing as concentrating on areas that strengthen its core competitiveness, adding that Anthropic fits SKT's plans in infrastructure and data-center businesses.
Why a Telecom Buys Equity in an AI Lab Instead of Just Licensing It
SKT's choice looks less unusual once you see the company it keeps on Anthropic's cap table. Anthropic's most recent round was led and joined not only by financial investors but by strategic infrastructure partners — including memory makers Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron, and cloud provider Amazon. These are the companies that make the chips and run the clouds that Claude depends on; their own businesses grow as Claude's usage grows. For them, an equity stake is a way to lock in a two-way commercial relationship, not merely a financial bet.
That is the logic Jung described. A telecom that wants to build AI data centers, sell enterprise AI, and embed advanced models in its own services gains more from being a partner and shareholder than from a one-time licensing deal — and more from holding the stake than from selling it the moment it spikes. The investment and the partnership reinforce each other.
A $100 Million Bet That Multiplied
SKT first invested $100 million in Anthropic in August 2023, taking a stake of roughly 0.7% that has since been diluted to about 0.3% through later funding rounds. Even diluted, the value has climbed steeply. SKT carried the holding at about 1.3 trillion won — roughly $970 million — at the end of last year, and analysts have estimated it could rise toward the high-3 trillion to 4 trillion won range, around 20 times the original investment, near an IPO, a figure that the latest follow-on investment further increases.
The reason is Anthropic's own ascent. In late May, the company closed a $65 billion Series H round at a $965 billion post-money valuation, a figure that more than doubled its roughly $380 billion valuation from February and pushed it past OpenAI to become the most valuable private AI company. The round, widely described as Anthropic's last private fundraise before going public, came as its run-rate revenue crossed $47 billion. SKT, as an early investor, joined this round.
The IPO That Makes the Stake Worth Watching
Anthropic is targeting a public listing in the second half of 2026, possibly as early as October. A debut at or above the $965 billion private mark would rank Anthropic among the most valuable companies to go public in years, and would convert SKT's paper gains into a far more visible asset on its balance sheet. For now, the gains are unrealized: under accounting rules, the appreciation sits as other comprehensive income and does not flow into reported profit until SKT actually sells — which, by the CEO's account, it is in no hurry to do.
An SKT official said the company aims to strengthen its role in the global AI ecosystem through the tie-up. The size and timing of Anthropic's listing have made SKT's stake a closely watched, if still minor, line on the telecom's balance sheet.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is SK Telecom's Anthropic stake worth?
SK Telecom carried its Anthropic holding at about 1.3 trillion won (roughly $970 million) at the end of last year. Analysts have estimated it could climb toward the high-3 trillion to 4 trillion won range — about 20 times the original $100 million investment — around an IPO, and SKT has since added to the stake.
When is Anthropic's IPO?
Anthropic is targeting an initial public offering in the second half of 2026, possibly as early as October. Its recent $65 billion Series H round is widely described as its last private fundraise before going public.
What is Anthropic's valuation?
Anthropic closed a $65 billion Series H round in late May 2026 at a $965 billion post-money valuation, more than double its roughly $380 billion valuation from February and ahead of OpenAI, making it the most valuable private AI company.
Why did SK Telecom invest more instead of selling before the IPO?
CEO Jung Jae-heon said SKT values the ongoing partnership over a one-time IPO profit, faces no pressure to sell, and sees continued synergy with Anthropic in areas such as security, AI infrastructure, and data centers. So it chose to keep investing rather than exit.
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