Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are facing criticism over how they charge wealthy clients who want exposure to top AI startups. The banks reportedly waived carried‑interest fees on OpenAI shares but still charged those fees on access to Anthropic’s new funding round.
Anthropic recently closed a huge $30 billion Series G round, valuing the company at $380 billion. GIC and Coatue led the raise, with big backers such as Goldman Sachs’ alternatives arm and Morgan Stanley Investment Management also participating.
How the Fee Dispute Arose
According to the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the deals, Morgan Stanley and Goldman started offering OpenAI shares to their wealth‑management clients without charging carried‑interest fees.
Carried interest is a performance‑based fee, often 15 to 20 percent of profits, that banks and funds take on successful private deals.
However, Goldman continued to charge its usual carry on Anthropic’s allocation, even as OpenAI access came with no such fee. That difference has drawn complaints from some investors, who say they pay more to back Anthropic even though both companies are now considered direct rivals in top‑tier AI.
Inside Anthropic’s $30B Series G Round
Anthropic’s Series G funding was one of the largest private AI raises ever, bringing in $30 billion at a $380 billion post‑money valuation. The round was led by Singapore’s GIC and Coatue and co‑led by D. E. Shaw Ventures, Dragoneer, Founders Fund, ICONIQ, and MGX.
Major investors included Accel, BlackRock‑affiliated funds, Blackstone, Fidelity, General Catalyst, Qatar Investment Authority, Temasek, and others, as well as Goldman Sachs’ growth‑equity arm and Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Anthropic said the money will support frontier research, product work, and infrastructure as it competes for enterprise AI customers.
The fee gap between the OpenAI and Anthropic offerings is now fueling debate about how banks treat different deals and clients. Some investors argue that charging carry on one premier AI name while waiving it on another creates an uneven playing field and raises questions about conflicts or internal priorities.
Both banks declined to comment on the reported fee structures, and Anthropic and OpenAI also did not respond to questions. Yet as AI valuations rise and secondary markets grow, large investors are watching closely not only which startups banks back, but also how much those banks charge them for access.
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