Sequoia to invest in Anthropic, breaking VC taboo on backing rivals: FT

Group 1 - Sequoia Capital is participating in a significant funding round for Anthropic, an AI startup, despite previously investing in competitors OpenAI and xAI [1][4] - The funding round is led by Singapore's GIC and U.S. investor Coatue, each contributing $1.5 billion, with Anthropic aiming to raise $25 billion at a valuation of $350 billion, more than double its previous valuation of $170 billion [3] - Microsoft and Nvidia have committed up to $15 billion combined, with additional contributions from VCs and other investors expected to exceed $10 billion [3] Group 2 - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman indicated that investors with access to OpenAI's confidential information would lose that access if they made non-passive investments in competitors, which is considered an industry standard protection [2] - Sequoia's historical ties with Altman include backing him during his startup Loopt and supporting his connections with successful companies like Stripe [4] - Sequoia's investment in xAI is viewed as a strategy to strengthen ties with Elon Musk rather than a direct competition with OpenAI [4]