Silicon Valley banker wants to swap his $8M estate – Business News
A Silicon Valley dealmaker is wanting to swap his 14-acre estate for shares of the AI giant Anthropic – the most recent signal of the lengths traders will go to get a piece of the red-hot artificial intelligence sector, The Post has realized.
Storm Duncan, founder of the tech-focused investment bank Ignatious, detailed in an unique interview how the weird transaction might work – together with Duncan overlaying all of the closing prices for any Anthropic equity holder who takes him up on the offer.
Duncan stated real-estate advisors have pegged the worth of his unfold – a 4,400-square-foot, four-bedroom mansion perched within the hills of Mill Valley simply north of the Golden Gate Bridge – at roughly $8 million. The lavish compound and its infinity pool boast sweeping views of San Francisco Bay and close by Mount Tamalpais.
Duncan’s lavish compound and its infinity pool boast sweeping views of San Francisco Bay and close by Mount Tamalpais. Provided by Storm Duncan
“There’s definitely been some interest in it,” Duncan informed The Post. “But it’s not your typical deal.”
The 56-year-old financier’s itemizing – which sparked chatter in tech circles after he posted it on Linkedin this week – reveals that even well-connected tech insiders are scrambling to snag shares of privately held AI startups earlier than they go public.
Some social media customers flagged Duncan’s pitch as the most recent indicator the AI market is overheating.
“Peak late-cycle vibes. Please frame this and put it on the wall,” one X consumer commented.
Storm Duncan, founder of the tech-focused investment bank Ignatious. linkedin/stormduncan
Duncan stated he already has Anthropic shares which he acquired in a 2024 funding spherical. He has gotten to know Anthropic’s management crew by way of prior work and stated he believes they are going to succeed within the AI race long time period.
“It’ll be a conversation,” Duncan stated. “But I don’t take my offer as a sign that the market has reached the top.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic has these days fielded affords from enterprise capitalists that might worth it at $800 billion or more, in accordance to a Bloomberg report this month. Duncan stated his own evaluation of Anthropic’s financials yields a comparable valuation.
Duncan’s 4,400-square-foot, four-bedroom mansion within the hills of Mill Valley simply north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Provided by Storm Duncan
Acquiring shares instantly from one other particular person versus shopping for them by way of so-called secondary markets affords more transparency, Duncan stated, including that figuring out the legitimacy of still-private startup shares could be troublesome and dangerous.
There are additionally tax benefits to doing a swap for his home, he added.
A swap would have to happen at a present valuation for Anthropic and he would enable any takers to retain 20% of the upside worth of the exchanged shares earlier than they may very well be legally transferred to him, Duncan stated.
The 56-year-old financier’s itemizing – which sparked chatter in tech circles after he posted it on Linkedin this week Provided by Storm Duncan
San Francisco-based Anthropic has these days fielded affords from enterprise capitalists that might worth it at $800 billion or more. REUTERS
Duncan has invested in quite a few AI startups together with Gecko Robotics which has been valued at $1.25 billion; he has additionally backed enterprise networking company Upscale AI, which inked a $200 million Series A financing in January.
The Mill Valley estate at 114 Inez Place has long served as a celebration vacation spot. In the years earlier than Covid, Duncan stated he threw shindigs for as many as 700 company, with fashions, real-estate bigwigs and influential technologists in attendance.
“Suffice to say that if the house blew up during a party, it would have been a problem for the tech world,” Duncan stated. “My goal with those parties was to get people together from different walks of life.”
Duncan stated he now splits his time between houses in Miami and Wyoming and that a “very famous” enterprise capitalist at present lives at his Mill Valley estate, declining to title the renter.
