Anthropic Draws $800B Valuation Interest Amid Rapid Revenue and Enterprise Market Gains

Anthropic, the AI startup behind the Claude model, is drawing intense investor interest with funding offers that could value it at $800 billion or more, even as it has so far turned them down. This surge comes amid explosive revenue growth, with annualized revenue jumping from $9 billion at the end of 2025 to $30 billion by March 2026, fueled by strong demand for its coding tools, according to reports from Bloomberg and multiple investors cited in the Financial Times.

The development is prompting second thoughts among some OpenAI investors, who backed the ChatGPT creator's recent $122 billion fundraising round that pushed its valuation to around $852 billion. One investor who has supported both companies told the Financial Times that justifying OpenAI's valuation requires assuming an IPO price tag of $1.2 trillion or higher, making Anthropic's current $380 billion valuation—from its February Series G round—appear as a relative bargain. Secondary market trading reflects this sentiment, with Anthropic shares heating up while OpenAI's trade at a discount.

Anthropic's rapid ascent underscores its edge in the enterprise AI market, where it has grown its share to 30.6% from 24.4%, boasting a 70% win rate against OpenAI for new business buyers. Projections suggest Anthropic could hit $55 billion in revenue by 2027 and break even by 2028, contrasting with OpenAI's longer timeline to profitability around 2030. As reported by TradingKey and leaked documents referenced in Wall Street Journal coverage, this trajectory has secondary market valuations for Anthropic climbing to $688 billion, more than double its recent primary round.

OpenAI's leadership is pushing back forcefully. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar highlighted the record-breaking fundraise—backed by giants like Amazon, NVIDIA, SoftBank, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Thrive Capital—as proof of confidence, while noting CEO Sam Altman's experience navigating valuation debates. OpenAI claims advantages in computing power, targeting 30 gigawatts by 2030 with 8 gigawatts already secured, far ahead of Anthropic's projected pace. However, its new Chief Revenue Officer has accused Anthropic of overstating its run rate by $8 billion through aggressive gross accounting on cloud partner revenue, a claim both sides say aligns with U.S. GAAP standards.

Tensions extend to IPO preparations, with both companies in talks with banks like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley for potential listings in Q4 or October 2026. Anthropic could raise over $60 billion in a blockbuster debut, while OpenAI faces scrutiny over recent product roadmap shifts and internal governance issues. Public markets would need to absorb hundreds of billions in new shares, including from SpaceX, testing investor appetite for AI at unprecedented revenue multiples—34x forward for OpenAI on $25 billion annualized revenue, versus 20x for Anthropic.

This rivalry matters deeply for the $1.23 trillion combined private valuation of OpenAI and Anthropic, reshaping AI investment priorities and raising questions about sustainability amid soaring compute costs and regulatory hurdles. Investors, limited partners, and the broader tech ecosystem are watching closely, as Anthropic's momentum could force OpenAI to accelerate enterprise pivots or risk valuation compression ahead of going public.