Sundar Pichai’s biggest AI win may come from other companies instead of Google itself. As the CEO of Google and its parent, Alphabet, Pichai has poured billions into AI products and cloud services, but it’s Google’s early bets on companies like SpaceX and Anthropic that are set to deliver a real payday. Both companies are preparing for blockbuster IPOs this year, putting Google in a position to make tens of billions of dollars—perhaps more—in investments that could be more profitable than its AI efforts so far.
Google, helping Photos for more than a decade, has long invested in startups through its venture capital firm, Google Ventures, and its growth arm, CapitalG. The AI boom has accelerated that trend, Photosi said during an April 7 interview with Stripe co-founder John Collison and investor Elad Gil. “Now, with the revolution of AI, there are many opportunities where we can invest in a positive way, so we are doing that,” the CEO said.
SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space company, has become one of Google’s most profitable businesses. The company merged with Musk’s AI venture xAI earlier this year, pushing its valuation above $1 trillion. SpaceX filed to go public as early as June, reportedly aiming for a record $1.75 trillion valuation. Google invested about $900 million in SpaceX in 2015 and still holds about a 7 percent stake—a position that could net the company more than $100 billion if the IPO comes.
The payment has already started. In early 2025, Alphabet reported that unrealized gains from one private placement contributed $8 billion to quarterly profits, about a quarter of its net income. Bloomberg later identified that company as SpaceX.
It is expected that there will be other winds from Anthropic. Google first invested $2 billion in 2023 and now owns about 14 percent of the company. Once listed in the millions, Anthropic’s valuation rose to $380 billion earlier this year, and it is reportedly considering an IPO in the fourth quarter of this year. The start-up market could give Google a big advantage outside of its core business in years past.
Those gains come as Google’s AI products, such as Gemini and Vertex, face stiff competition from OpenAI (which Google has not invested in) and Microsoft. Meanwhile, the company’s arms and growth continue to do strong work. Google has participated in financing rounds totaling 21.6 billion in 2025, the highest since 2021, almost half of which is focused on AI businesses, including Anthropic and Physical Intelligence.
Photosi said the company will continue to pursue early-stage technology bets with long-term potential. “You want to be good financial managers,” he told Gil and Collison, citing SpaceX and Anthropic as examples. “To the extent that you are willing [return on invested capital]you want to invest every last dollar you can get there.”
