Key takeaways Anthropic has engaged law firm Wilson Sonsini to prepare for a potential IPO as early as 2026, according to Financial Times reports. The AI startup is simultaneously pursuing private fun...
Anthropic, the artificial intelligence startup behind the Claude chatbot, has hired prominent Silicon Valley law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati to prepare for an initial public offering that could take place as early as 2026, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.
The company, led by CEO Dario Amodei, has engaged Wilson Sonsini, the same firm that advised Google on its 2004 IPO and has handled major tech public offerings, including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Lyft.
According to sources cited by the Financial Times, Anthropic has been working through internal preparations for a potential listing, though the company emphasized that no final decisions have been made.
"It's fairly standard practice for companies operating at our scale and revenue level to effectively operate as if they are publicly traded companies," an Anthropic spokesperson told the Financial Times. "We haven't made any decisions about when or even whether to go public, and don't have any news to share at this time."
An Anthropic spokesperson separately told Reuters that "the company has not decided when or even if it will go public."
Beyond IPO preparations, Anthropic is reportedly pursuing a private funding round that could value the startup at more than $300 billion.
This comes on the heels of major investment commitments announced in November, when Microsoft and Nvidia pledged to invest up to $15 billion combined in the AI company, with Nvidia committing up to $10 billion and Microsoft up to $5 billion.
As part of that November agreement, Anthropic committed to purchasing $30 billion of computing capacity from Microsoft's Azure cloud service and agreed to use Nvidia's latest chip technology.
The investments valued Anthropic in the range of $350 billion, a significant increase from its $183 billion valuation in September.
"We're increasingly going to be customers of each other," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a video announcing the partnership. "We will use Anthropic models. They will use our infrastructure, and we'll go to market together to help our customers realize the value of AI."
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, "This is a dream come true for us. You know, we've admired the work of Anthropic and Dario for a long time, and this is the first time we are going to deeply partner with Anthropic to accelerate Claude."
Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives, Anthropic has experienced rapid growth.
The company is projecting to more than double and potentially nearly triple its annualized revenue run rate to around $26 billion next year, according to sources.
Anthropic currently serves more than 300,000 business and enterprise customers.
The potential IPO would position Anthropic in direct competition with OpenAI, its largest rival and the company behind ChatGPT.
OpenAI is also preparing for what could rank among the largest initial public offerings ever, with a potential valuation of up to $1 trillion.
Reuters has reported that OpenAI may file with securities regulators as early as the second half of 2026.
However, OpenAI's chief financial officer, Sarah Friar, said in November that a listing is not in the startup's near-term plans, potentially creating an opening for Anthropic to reach public markets first.
Both potential listings would test investor sentiment toward artificial intelligence companies that are experiencing explosive growth but also burning significant capital on computing infrastructure and research.
The discussions come amid growing concerns among some Wall Street analysts about whether current AI valuations reflect sustainable business models or represent an emerging bubble.
Anthropic has also taken steps to strengthen its financial leadership ahead of a potential public offering.
The company hired Krishna Rao, a former Airbnb executive who played a key role in that company's 2020 IPO, as chief financial officer.
The AI startup has discussed the potential IPO with major investment banks, though sources characterize these talks as preliminary and informal, indicating the company has not yet selected its IPO underwriters.
Anthropic is backed by major technology companies, including Amazon and Alphabet's Google, in addition to the recent investments from Microsoft and Nvidia.
The company positions itself as prioritizing safety in AI development while competing directly with OpenAI in the rapidly expanding generative AI market.
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