Alphabet’s Phenomenal Investment Journey
When people think of Alphabet, they often visualize Google’s search engine, YouTube, or Google Cloud. However, one of its most fascinating aspects is its prowess as an investor, especially in groundbreaking companies.
Google’s Investment in SpaceX
Alphabet has been an investor in SpaceX since 2015, pouring $900 million into the company when it was valued at $12 billion. Initially holding a 7.5% stake, its share has since decreased to about 4.9%, translating into a current valuation of approximately $110.3 billion—a staggering 12,156% return over 11.5 years.
Moreover, Alphabet maintains a stake in Cursor, an AI coding start-up being acquired by SpaceX for $60 billion in an all-stock deal, which may result in more shares for Alphabet.
Image source: Getty Images.
Alphabet’s Strategic Moves
In 2023, Alphabet invested $2 billion in Anthropic, the creator of the Claude large language model. This was followed by a $1 billion investment in 2025, and another significant commitment of $40 billion in 2026, contingent on performance. Alphabet’s stake in Anthropic now stands at approximately 14%, valuing its investment at around $135.1 billion—essentially a 10X return.
Alphabet has also invested in AST SpaceMobile, acquiring over 8.9 million shares in early 2025. Trading at nearly $89 per share currently, this investment has yielded an estimated 250% profit within 15 to 18 months.
Conclusion
Alphabet’s investment strategy showcases its ability to outperform traditional money managers, making it a standout player on Wall Street. Through savvy investments in SpaceX and burgeoning technologies like AI, Alphabet has demonstrated a remarkable proficiency in building wealth.
