Google is now a glorified venture-capital fund thanks to its SpaceX and Anthropic stakes



Google’s early investments in SpaceX and Anthropic look like some of the ‘most successful venture bets any public company has ever made,’ one expert says

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Google is now a glorified venture-capital fund thanks to its SpaceX and Anthropic stakes
Google’s early investments in SpaceX and Anthropic look like some of the ‘most successful venture bets any public company has ever made,’ one expert says
By
Britney Nguyen
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Published: May 2, 2026 at 9:31 a.m. ET

Illustration of the Google logo with "ANTHROPIC" and "SPACEX" text.
Paper gains from Google’s Anthropic and SpaceX stakes were major contributors to the company’s growth in net income.
Photo: MarketWatch illustration/iStockphoto
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Google’s first-quarter earnings report reflected its position as an artificial-intelligence winner — and as a savvy investor.

The tech giant
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reported net income of $62.6 billion for the March quarter, up about 81% from a year ago. More than half of that — $36.9 billion — came from unrealized gains on equity positions. And of those, SpaceX and Anthropic were likely the overwhelming contributors. #WCTCTradingKingPK
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