Sundar PichaiThe biggest AI gains may come from other companies instead Google himself. As the longtime 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 Anthropogenic that are designated to provide the actual payment. Both firms are gearing up for successful IPOs this year, positioning Google to earn tens of billions of dollars—perhaps more—investments that could prove more profitable than its AI efforts to date.
Google, led by Pichai for more than a decade, has long invested in startups through its venture capital arm, Google Ventures, and its growth arm, CapitalG. The AI boom has accelerated this approach, Pichai said during an April 7 interview Tape co John Collison and investor Sold by Gil. “Now, with AI changing, there are more opportunities in which we can put capital to good use, and so we’re doing that“, said the CEO.
SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space company, has become one of Google’s most profitable properties. The firm merged with Musk’s AI venture xAI earlier this year, pushing its valuation past $1 trillion. SpaceX filed confidentially to go public in June, reportedly targeting a record $1.75 trillion valuation. Google invested roughly $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 when the IPO is completed.
The reward has already begun. In early 2025, Alphabet reported that unrealized gains from a private property contributed $8 billion to quarterly profit, about a quarter of its net income. Bloomberg later identified that company as SpaceX.
Another windfall is expected from Anthropic. Google initially invested $2 billion in 2023 and now owns about 14 percent of the company. After being valued in the millions, Anthropic’s value rose to $380 billion earlier this year, and is said to be exploring an IPO in the fourth quarter of this year. The market debut could give Google one of its biggest gains outside of its core business in years.
These gains come as Google’s own AI products, such as Gemini and Vertex, face stiff competition OpenAI (in which Google has not invested) and Microsoft. Meanwhile, the company’s venture and growth arms continue to perform strongly. Google participated in the funding rounds totaling $21.6 billion in 2025, the highest since 2021, with nearly half focused on AI ventures, including Anthropic and Physical Intelligence.
Pichai said the company will continue to pursue early-stage technology bets with long-term potential. “You want to be good stewards of capital,” he told Gil and Collison, citing SpaceX and Anthropic as examples. “To the extent that you’re strong (return on invested capital), you want to put every last dollar you can in there.”
