Anthropic Files for IPO First, Outpacing OpenAI in Race to Public Markets

Key Highlights

• Anthropic submitted a confidential draft S-1 registration statement to the SEC for its upcoming IPO
• Pricing and share count details remain undisclosed at this stage
• Recent funding valued the AI firm at $965 billion following a $65 billion capital raise
• Revenue run rate reached $47 billion annually as of early May, a significant jump from $9 billion the previous year
• The filing positions Anthropic ahead of competitor OpenAI in the journey toward going public, with SpaceX also preparing for an offering

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The artificial intelligence firm Anthropic, creator of the Claude AI model suite, submitted confidential documentation for an initial public offering to the Securities and Exchange Commission this Monday. This move establishes Anthropic as among the most eagerly awaited stock market launches expected in 2026.

According to the company’s statement, neither the total share count nor the price per share has been finalized. Anthropic noted that the timing and execution of the public offering will hinge on prevailing market dynamics and additional considerations following the SEC’s regulatory review process.

Explosive Revenue Trajectory

Anthropic’s financial expansion has accelerated dramatically. By early May, the company posted an annualized revenue run rate of $47 billion, climbing from $30 billion just one month earlier in April. This represents a remarkable surge from the $9 billion run rate recorded twelve months ago.

A substantial portion of this revenue acceleration stems from enterprise clients. The company’s Claude Code programming tool has emerged as a particularly strong contributor to overall sales performance.

Mere days ahead of submitting its IPO documents, Anthropic successfully completed a massive $65 billion financing round. This injection of capital established the company’s valuation at $965 billion, effectively surpassing OpenAI’s most recent valuation of $852 billion from March.

The competitive dynamic between Anthropic and OpenAI now extends to their respective public market debuts. According to reporting from The Wall Street Journal in May, OpenAI has engaged investment bankers to prepare its own confidential IPO registration. SpaceX, currently valued at approximately $2 trillion, submitted its IPO filing last month.

Security Priorities and Government Tensions

Chief Executive Dario Amodei has deliberately branded Anthropic as an AI company that prioritizes responsible development and safety protocols. This philosophical orientation has influenced several major strategic decisions.

In April, the company made the unusual choice to withhold its most advanced model, Claude Mythos Preview, from general release. Anthropic expressed concerns that the system demonstrated unexpected proficiency in discovering software security weaknesses, despite not being explicitly trained for such tasks.

The firm also established a collaborative cybersecurity initiative alongside Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. Through this partnership, these technology giants gain early access to Claude Mythos Preview, enabling them to discover and remediate security vulnerabilities before malicious actors can weaponize them.

Amodei’s emphasis on ethical AI development has generated tension with the Trump Administration. President Trump previously issued threats to prohibit Anthropic’s software from federal government use after Amodei publicly stated his opposition to allowing the Pentagon to deploy the technology for mass civilian surveillance operations or fully autonomous weapon systems.

Despite these political headwinds, Anthropic’s commercial performance has maintained strong upward momentum. The company’s market valuation has expanded substantially within a compressed timeframe.

The IPO submission places Anthropic in an elite group alongside OpenAI and SpaceX as the most closely monitored prospective public offerings this year. The company has not disclosed a specific timeline for when shares might begin trading.

The offering cannot proceed until the SEC completes its mandatory review of the registration statement.

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