Artificial intelligence company Anthropic is gearing up for a potential public offering, marking a significant evolution from its beginnings as a lesser-known research lab to a major player in the AI sector, now valued at around $965 billion.
On Monday, Anthropic announced it has filed a confidential notice with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its intent to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock.
According to a brief statement from the company, this move gives them the flexibility to go public once the SEC completes its review. However, they noted that the timing of the IPO would be influenced by market conditions and other factors.
The exact number of shares or their pricing has yet to be determined.
Last week, Anthropic reported it had raised $65 billion in private funding, pushing its valuation to an impressive $965 billion. This makes the company—known for creating the Claude chatbot—one of the most valuable startups in the world.
In fact, Anthropic has outpaced its main competitor, OpenAI, not just in market valuation and revenue, but also in the race to become publicly traded.
“I think many expected OpenAI to go public first, so this is a bit unexpected,” shared Patrick Corrigan, a Notre Dame law professor who focuses on IPOs. “Public investors will likely compare both companies, so there’s a potential advantage for whoever moves first.”
Currently, Anthropic is generating annualized revenue of $47 billion by providing its technology to users leveraging Claude for various tasks, from coding to other personal and professional duties.
Founded in 2021 by former leaders of OpenAI, Anthropic, alongside OpenAI and SpaceX, is poised for public entry. It’s worth noting that all three have faced significant financial losses, raising alarms about a possible AI bubble.
Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, remarked that Anthropic’s decision represents a key progression in its competition with OpenAI and could signal a resurgence in the IPO market, which has been relatively quiet over the past few years with these major firms planning public offerings soon.
Corrigan drew parallels between the current race among Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX to the rush among tech startups to go public during the early internet era. While some, like Amazon, thrived, others failed during the dot-com crash. Yet, this era paved the way for transformative technologies.
“Speculation often comes with real substance and fundamentals,” Corrigan noted. “The real question is whether the perceived valuations will align with the genuine impact of AI in the economy.”
Despite its early lead with ChatGPT, OpenAI finds itself in a reactive position as Claude’s popularity grows. Anthropic recently introduced its latest AI model, Claude Opus 4.8, claiming it surpasses previous versions in coding and professional tasks.
OpenAI’s last reported valuation in March stood at $852 billion after a $122 billion fundraising round. As of now, it has not filed any IPO paperwork with the SEC.
Meanwhile, SpaceX’s valuation rose to $1.25 trillion following its merger with Musk’s xAI in February, up from last year’s $800 billion. Musk has announced plans for a major stock sale, potentially allowing him to pitch this to investors shortly.
Tim Law, an IDC analyst, expressed optimism about how public filings would benefit the AI sector by requiring these firms to disclose their earnings and technology investments periodically.
“We consider these companies quite mature, but they’ve reached this level in a very short timeframe,” he mentioned.
Addressing bubble concerns, Law—who previously experienced the dot-com era—believes there’s enough evidence from current AI products to suggest a clear path toward profitability and the development of artificial general intelligence.
“While some may doubt demand, I genuinely think it’s there and will continue to increase,” he stated. “This funding round might just be what propels us toward achieving AGI.”
