Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI model, has filed a confidential draft S-1 with the SEC, signaling its intent to go public. The move puts it ahead of OpenAI, which is still preparing its own confidential filing.
What a Confidential Filing Means
Unlike a standard IPO where the S-1 becomes public immediately, Anthropic is using a confidential submission process. This allows the company to submit its draft privately for SEC review before deciding whether and when to proceed. The approach, popular among Silicon Valley giants, lets the company gauge market conditions and hold off if unfavorable.
Anthropic stated cautiously:
"This gives us the option to go public after the SEC completes its review. The proposed initial public offering will depend on market conditions and other factors."
The filing, made under Securities Act Rule 135, serves as an early notice of a potential IPO without constituting a formal offering. No details on share count or pricing have been disclosed.
Fresh Funding, Then IPO
The timing is notable. Just days before the filing, Anthropic completed a $65 billion Series H round at a post-money valuation of $965 billion, led by Altimeter, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia. That valuation surpasses OpenAI's, making Anthropic the world's most valuable private AI company.
Despite ample private capital, the push for an IPO stems from its revenue trajectory. Anthropic disclosed an annualized revenue of $47 billion, up from $10 billion a year earlier—a multi-fold increase in 12 months. Such rapid growth strains private markets, where only a handful of institutions can write billion-dollar checks. An IPO opens the pool to public investors.
Why Beat OpenAI?
The strategic edge lies in being first. OpenAI, valued at $852 billion in its March round, is also preparing a confidential filing. The first to ring the bell claims the "first frontier AI model company to go public" label—a title that sets pricing and valuation benchmarks for followers.
Anthropic's filing puts it at the negotiating table first. If the timeline holds, a listing could come as early as this fall, making it the first major AI model company to complete a full IPO process in this wave.
The Bigger Picture
Over the past two years, AI valuations have been driven by private markets, where a few institutions can inflate numbers. The public market, with millions of retail and institutional investors, will now test whether the $965 billion valuation holds.
Anthropic's filing is the first to bring that figure to public scrutiny. The answer will come this fall, and OpenAI is unlikely to let it stand alone for long.
Sources: Anthropic confidentially submits draft S-1 to the SEC (Anthropic official blog); Anthropic confidentially files IPO prospectus with SEC (CNBC); Anthropic files to go public in a potentially trillion-dollar debut (CNN Business); CocoLoop; Anthropic Files Confidentially for IPO in Race With OpenAI (Bloomberg); Anthropic confidentially files for IPO after raising $65 billion (Fortune)