Anthropic files for IPO as race with OpenAI heats up

Anthropic has confidentially filed for a US stock market listing, setting up what could become one of the biggest technology IPOs in history and intensifying its rivalry with OpenAI.

The Claude maker confirmed on Monday that it had submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission, giving the company the option to go public once regulators complete their review.

“The proposed initial public offering will depend on market conditions and other factors,” Anthropic said in a statement.

The company did not disclose the size, timing or valuation of the offering.

The filing comes days after Anthropic raised $65bn (£48bn) in funding at a post-money valuation of $965bn, making it one of the world’s most valuable private companies and putting it ahead of OpenAI’s last reported valuation.

Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei alongside a group of former OpenAI researchers who left to build a rival focused on AI safety and enterprise adoption.

The company has rapidly emerged as OpenAI’s closest competitor, with its Claude models now widely used by businesses through partnerships with Amazon, Google and other cloud providers.

According to recent reports, Anthropic expects revenue to more than double this year and is targeting its first operating profit, helped by strong demand from enterprise customers.

Around 80 per cent of its revenue is understood to come from business products rather than consumer subscriptions.

This is a developing story. More to follow