Anthropic is in early discussions about going public as soon as October, according to Bloomberg, in what would be the largest AI IPO ever.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Claude maker is talking with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley about a potential offering that could raise more than $60 billion. No formal filing has been made and timelines could still change.
The move comes just months after Anthropic secured a $30 billion Series G round in February that valued the company at $380 billion. At a $60 billion raise, the IPO would position Anthropic among the largest tech offerings in history.
The Revenue Picture
Anthropic is operating at approximately $14 billion annualised revenue in early 2026, with projections suggesting it could reach $18-20 billion as enterprise demand continues to grow. The company has raised over $67 billion in total funding.
A large share of revenue comes from business customers. Enterprises contribute the majority through API usage and long-term contracts, with a rising number of clients spending between $100,000 and $1 million annually on Claude services.
The Claude models are estimated to have tens of millions of monthly active users, along with hundreds of thousands of enterprise customers worldwide. The company has been integrating its models into enterprise platforms for coding, document analysis, research, and conversational applications.
Racing OpenAI to Market
The IPO timing would put Anthropic in direct competition with OpenAI, which is also planning to go public later this year. Both companies are racing to establish themselves as the dominant AI platform before the market becomes crowded.
Anthropic faces challenges including intensifying competition from OpenAI and Google DeepMind, as well as regulatory pressure in the US. The company recently filed a lawsuit against the Defense Department over a supply chain risk designation.
What Comes Next
The early-stage talks with banks are focused on assessing investor demand, setting pricing expectations, and structuring the deal. If Anthropic proceeds with an October timeline, formal filings would likely appear in the coming months.
For investors, the offering represents the most direct bet yet on the enterprise AI market. Whether the $60 billion target reflects genuine demand or AI bubble enthusiasm will become clearer as the IPO process advances.
The Mythos Factor
The IPO timing coincides with Anthropic's development of Mythos, its next-generation model that leaked earlier this week. Internal documents describe Mythos as 'larger and more intelligent' than the current Opus tier, with dramatically higher scores on coding, reasoning, and cybersecurity benchmarks.
Anthropic confirmed the model exists and is being tested with early access customers. If Mythos launches before the IPO, it could serve as a powerful narrative for the offering, demonstrating continued capability leadership against OpenAI and Google.
Market Context
The AI sector remains the hottest part of the tech market despite broader economic uncertainty driven by the Iran war and high energy prices. Nvidia, which supplies the GPUs powering AI infrastructure, hit a $4 trillion market cap earlier this month.
A successful Anthropic IPO would validate the business model of selling AI capabilities to enterprises rather than relying purely on consumer subscriptions. It would also test investor appetite for AI valuations that assume continued exponential growth in a market that is starting to see competitive pressure.
TLDR
Anthropic is targeting an IPO as early as October 2026, according to Bloomberg, with expectations of raising over $60 billion. The Claude maker is in preliminary discussions with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley. The company raised $30 billion in February at a $380 billion valuation and is operating at approximately $14 billion annualised revenue, with projections reaching $18-20 billion as enterprise demand grows. No formal filing has been made and timelines could change.
SOURCES & CITATIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
