Anthropic, the maker of the Claude AI assistant, confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the United States on Monday, according to a company statement. The move comes just days after the firm closed a $65 billion funding round that valued it at $900 billion, per the Financial Times.
The decision to go public reflects the explosive demand for generative AI technology and Anthropic's ambition to compete with rivals like OpenAI. The confidential filing allows the company to test market reception without immediate public disclosure of its financials, a common strategy for high-profile tech IPOs. The valuation, nearing the trillion-dollar mark, underscores investor appetite for AI leaders.
In a separate development, Anthropic is granting the European Union access to its advanced Mythos model following regional requests related to cybersecurity oversight, CNBC reported. This move signals the company's efforts to navigate regulatory hurdles ahead of its public listing. Meanwhile, SpaceX — which has not yet filed for its own IPO — has disclosed a multibillion-dollar arrangement with Anthropic, according to MarketWatch.
Counter-argument: Critics warn that Anthropic's sky-high valuation may be disconnected from its revenue reality, given the enormous capital expenditure required to train and run frontier AI models. The company has not disclosed profitability metrics, and the competitive landscape remains fierce, with deep-pocketed rivals and evolving regulation posing risks to future growth.