Anthropic confidentially files IPO application in the US

Claude developer Anthropic has confidentially filed an application for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The US-based AI company announced this on Monday.

Anthropic did not disclose the volume or terms of the planned IPO. “This [the application, editor's note] gives us the option to go public after the SEC completes its review. The planned IPO depends on market conditions and other factors,” the company stated merely in the announcement. “The number of shares offered and the price have not yet been determined.”

Confidential filings allow companies to advance IPO preparations while protecting sensitive financial data from competitors and the public. According to US media, Anthropic's IPO could take place as early as the fall.

IPOs of SpaceX and OpenAI

Anthropic's announcement to go public comes shortly before the planned record IPO of SpaceX. Elon Musk's space company intends to carry this out on June 12. SpaceX aims to raise up to 80 billion US dollars from investors. The high costs for the development of the Starship rocket recently caused billions in losses for the space company. And ChatGPT developer OpenAI is also aiming for an IPO. The company is expected to file the corresponding application soon.

Anthropic has now surprisingly beaten OpenAI to it. According to analysts, Anthropic might be seeking to gain a strategic advantage over OpenAI. Both companies compete for AI computing power and talent, but also for the necessary capital, i.e., investor capital, for AI development.

“OpenAI and Anthropic are in a race to go public before they run out of capital,” said Gil Luria, an analyst at investment firm D.A. Davidson to the news agency Reuters, “and before the AI boom potentially cools down a bit.”

Anthropic valued higher than OpenAI

According to the US daily newspaper The New York Times, Anthropic has overtaken OpenAI as the world's most successful AI startup with a new funding round of 65 billion US dollars. For example, Amazon has pledged to invest 25 billion US dollars in Anthropic; Google will invest up to 40 billion US dollars in Anthropic. Anthropic is therefore valued at nearly 900 billion US dollars; OpenAI was most recently valued at 730 billion US dollars.

Anthropic made headlines earlier this year when the US Department of Defense demanded unlimited access to Anthropic's AI model Claude and, after its refusal, issued an ultimatum. The AI company does not want to allow the US government to use its AI technology for mass surveillance of the US population or to develop weapons that fire without human intervention. After the break with Anthropic, the Pentagon apparently struck an AI deal with OpenAI.

In April, Anthropic then introduced its powerful new AI model, Mythos, which can identify and fix security vulnerabilities in software systems. However, Anthropic ruled that this was too powerful and therefore too dangerous for the public. Instead, Claude Mythos Preview is to be made available exclusively to a range of companies working on IT security initially. Following this, Anthropic and the US government resumed talks about cooperation.

(akn)