Anthropic files for IPO before OpenAI, as they race to go public

Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic said Monday it filed for an initial public stock offering, a surprise start to the race between it and OpenAI to be the next trillion-dollar AI startup to hit the public markets.

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The filing, which is currently confidential as the Securities and Exchange Commission reviews it, comes earlier than expected as the Claude AI maker looks to beat its primary rival to fresh funding. Both companies were previously expected to begin trading in the fall.

“This gives us the option to go public after the SEC completes its review,” the company said in a statement. “The number of shares to be offered and the price have not yet been set.”

Just days ago, Anthropic announced that it was now valued at $965 billion after raising a fresh $65 billion in funding to fuel the insatiable demand for its artificial intelligence products.

If Anthropic debuts at a $1 trillion value, it would immediately catapult it into the ranks of the most highly valued companies in the world and likely mark the second- or third-largest IPO ever, behind SpaceX and Saudi Aramco.

Beating OpenAI to the market will likely be important for Anthropic, because its trading debut is set to occur shortly after SpaceX’s trillion-dollar IPO.

Many analysts believe whichever company makes it to the markets first will perform better in the funding race, because both Anthropic and OpenAI will be seeking tens of billions of dollars in new capital in short succession.

Already, the companies and their suppliers and customers are seeking trillions of dollars in funding through the bond markets as they build out data centers to power the AI revolution.

A similar event occurred in 2019, when ridesharing apps Uber and Lyft went public.

Shares of Lyft, which went public first, performed better in the aftermath of its IPO. Uber, which began trading second, finished its first trading day below its IPO price, which is unusual for high-profile offerings.