Anthropic's Explosive Growth Attracts $55 Million in Israeli Capital

Israel may not be a leader in artificial intelligence model development, but Clal Insurance has cleverly gained exposure to one of its rising stars. The company participated in Anthropic's massive $13 billion fundraising round, securing a foothold in one of the most sought-after private deals in the U.S.

Clal invested $55 million in the round, primarily using members' money with a small portion from Nostro. This is notable given the extraordinary demand and limited access for new investors in Anthropic's fundraising.

Claude, Anthropic's chatbot (Photo: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg)

Anthropic, the American company behind the widely used chatbot Claude, initially aimed for $5 billion but strong demand pushed the round to $13 billion. The participation of an Israeli insurer alongside global giants from Silicon Valley and Wall Street is striking. The round was led by Iconiq, Fidelity, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Clal gained access via Iconiq and had to commit funds within just a few days. Other major participants included Insight Partners and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

The financing was conducted at a valuation of $183 billion, making Anthropic one of the most valuable AI startups globally. This follows a $5 billion round earlier this year at a $61 billion valuation, sparking debates about a potential AI bubble. Meanwhile, OpenAI is in a secondary share sale that could value it at $500 billion, and Elon Musk's xAI seeks up to $200 billion.

Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives, Anthropic has become a key player in AI, specializing in advanced language models. Its revenue surged from $1 billion at the start of 2025 to over $5 billion by August, with 300,000 business customers. The programming tool Claude Code is a growth cornerstone, generating over $500 million annually and seeing a tenfold usage increase in three months.

Sustaining this momentum requires massive capital. Training and operating large language models can cost up to $10 billion, with rivals spending similarly. Reports suggest OpenAI may burn through $115 billion by 2029. Competition is fierce, with Google and Amazon investing in Anthropic while launching their own AI products.

Barak Benski, Deputy CEO and Head of the Investment Division at Clal, confirmed the investment, stating it demonstrates their ability to invest in global tech leaders through relationships with top institutions, creating value for members. The deal was led by Avital Cohen and Katya Zbar.