NBA champion and serial investor Tristan Thompson disclosed that he holds equity in Anthropic, the maker of Claude, which is currently valued at roughly $900 billion, crediting Silicon Valley dinners hosted around NBA road games for the access.
How The Warriors’ Schedule Opened An Investment Door
“Playing against the Warriors and going to a couple of these dinners they were doing just with the NBA — sitting there and just talking to these guys and really picking their brain,” Thompson said during his appearance on the Market Bubble podcast that aired Thursday.
According to Thompson, the San Francisco-based founders described the AI roadmap and he committed on the spot. “I was like, ‘Hey man, I like what you’re talking about. Here’s a check. I want in.'”
What Investors Need To Know
The Cleveland Cavaliers champion invested in a special purpose vehicle (SPV), pooling money from fellow athletes to make a larger investment. The approach is commonly used in angel investing to improve access to oversubscribed funding rounds.
Thompson framed the investments within a broader wealth philosophy, pointing to Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal as blueprints for athlete-to-operator transitions. “Who’s going to take the bull by the horn and be that new young money athlete?” he said.
For retail investors, his investment in Anthropic highlights how access to pre-initial public offering AI companies still largely depends on insider networks and connections, although secondary markets for Anthropic shares have emerged through platforms such as Forge Global and EquityZen.
Anthropic, which is backed by Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), has been in the news on multiple fronts. The AI startup is widely expected to go public in 2026. Recently, it expanded legal tools for Claude Cowork, enabling law firms to connect existing software and automate complex legal tasks at scale.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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