Anthropic is preparing for a potential Wall Street debut within weeks, in what could become one of the biggest tech listings yet. The OpenAI rival has built its business around computer coding, a strategy that has helped it rapidly scale revenue even as the company faces political, financial and competitive challenges.
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives who believed the risks and potential of artificial intelligence were not being taken seriously enough. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei, a biophysics PhD from Princeton, alongside his sister Daniela Amodei, who is president. Anthropic now has about 5,000 employees, according to PitchBook.
For much of its early life, Anthropic was firmly behind OpenAI, which reshaped the technology industry with ChatGPT. Rather than competing across a wide range of AI products, Anthropic concentrated on computer programming.
That focus is now paying off. Claude Code, its developer-focused assistant, has become one of its most popular products, helping drive projected annual revenue to $65 billion. Coding is also one of the few AI applications where customers have shown a willingness to pay significantly for the technology.
Anthropic's rapid growth has come alongside an increasingly difficult relationship with the Trump administration. In March, the US government ended its contracts with the company and designated it a supply chain risk after Anthropic refused to give the military unrestricted access to its AI models.Anthropic called the move unconstitutional retaliation, and the dispute has developed into a legal battle. Amodei has also repeatedly warned about AI's impact on jobs and called for regulation similar to rules governing industries such as airlines and banks.
Building frontier AI models requires enormous amounts of computing power and infrastructure. Anthropic has already attracted unprecedented funding, reaching a valuation of just under $1 trillion after raising $65 billion in May.With traditional venture capital and sovereign wealth funds increasingly unable to provide funding at that scale, public markets could become essential. That makes the IPO more than a liquidity event. It could become a major test of whether investors believe Anthropic's long-term AI business model can justify its extraordinary capital needs.
Anthropic reportedly plans to surpass the $86.2 billion raised by SpaceX in its June IPO. Its shares initially surged before falling back towards the $135 offering price, highlighting the risks for investors betting on AI.
Anthropic lost nearly $42 billion in 2025 and could continue burning cash for years. The IPO will test whether Wall Street is willing to back its long-term AI ambitions despite huge losses.
(Disclaimer: This article is based on inputs from agencies. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
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