Google Parent Alphabet Invested $900 Million Into SpaceX in January 2015 -- Here's How Much That Investment Is Worth Today

When most investors think of Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL)(NASDAQ: GOOG), they likely envision its globally dominant internet search engine (Google), ultra-popular streaming platform (YouTube), or the world's No. 3 cloud infrastructure services platform (Google Cloud). But what they may not realize is what a truly phenomenal investor Google has been.

While retail investors have seemingly tripped over each other to gain exposure to Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) (NASDAQ: SPCX) following its record-setting initial public offering (IPO), Google has been a stakeholder for well over 11 years. This initial investment is now worth more than the GDP of Costa Rica.

Google's SpaceX stake is worth a small fortune

Google initially invested $900 million into Elon Musk's space infrastructure company in January 2015, valuing SpaceX at approximately $12 billion. This gave it a roughly 7.5% stake in what's now the seventh-largest publicly traded company on Wall Street.

However, following several rounds of additional funding, designed to fuel SpaceX's satellite broadband ambitions (Starlink) and further its reusable rocket technology, Alphabet's stake in SpaceX shrank to about 4.9%.

Though notably smaller than its initial position, a 4.9% stake in SpaceX still packs a punch. As of today, Google parent Alphabet's SpaceX shares are worth $110.3 billion. For those of you keeping score at home, this works out to a 12,156% return over 11.5 years.

It should also be noted that Alphabet holds a stake in artificial intelligence coding start-up, Cursor, which is being acquired by SpaceX for $60 billion in an all-stock transaction. Assuming Alphabet still has this stake, it could translate into even more SpaceX shares.

Alphabet's investment arm is running circles around professional money managers

But SpaceX represents just one of a long list of investment wins for Alphabet.

In October 2023, Google invested $2 billion in Anthropic, the company behind the Claude large language model. Less than two years later, in January 2025, Google invested an additional $1 billion in Anthropic. The most recent investment round in April 2026 saw Alphabet commit another $40 billion, with $10 billion upfront and the additional $30 billion dependent on performance milestones.

Today, Alphabet holds a roughly 14% stake in Anthropic, which could change a bit depending on whether additional investment rounds are held. However, based on Anthropic's private market valuation of $965 billion, Google's cumulative investment has ballooned to about $135.1 billion. At worst, it's 10X'd its investment, including the latest $10 billion.

Wall Street's second-largest publicly traded company is also a major shareholder of satellite-based cellular broadband services provider AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS). During the first quarter of 2025, Alphabet acquired more than 8.9 million shares of AST. Though we don't know the exact purchase price of these shares, AST SpaceMobile spent most of the first quarter of 2025 hovering around $25 per share.

As of today, AST SpaceMobile is trading at nearly $89 per share. Alphabet has netted an estimated 250% gain on AST over 15 to 18 months, translating to a $571 million unrealized profit.

You'd struggle to find a more successful money manager on Wall Street than Alphabet.

Sean Williams has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AST SpaceMobile and Alphabet. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.