Anthropic PBC is preparing to wrap up a substantial financing round that could exceed $30 billion and value the company at more than $900 billion, according to a report published Friday. If completed on those terms, the funding would position the Claude developer as the most valuable artificial intelligence startup globally, eclipsing competitor OpenAI.
Four investment firms - Sequoia Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group, Altimeter Capital and Greenoaks Capital Partners - are set to co-lead the syndicate, with each expected to contribute roughly $2 billion. Existing backers, including Founders Fund and General Catalyst, are also anticipated to take part, the report said. Observers cautioned that commitments are still being finalized and that deal terms remain subject to change.
The equity raise reportedly organized quickly: Anthropic began conversations earlier this month after receiving inbound proposals in late April, and the round came together over the course of a few weeks. The company has shared revenue and growth metrics with potential investors to support the valuation and the scale of capital being sought.
For the second quarter, Anthropic expects to report $10.9 billion in revenue, a figure that would be more than double the revenue reported in the prior three-month period and set the company on track for what it calls its first profitable quarter. Management has also communicated to investors that the firm anticipates surpassing a $50 billion annualized run rate by the end of next month, a marked jump from a $4 billion run rate reported in July of last year.
At a conference this month, Anthropic Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei characterized recent activity as dramatic acceleration, saying the company experienced 80-fold growth in annualized revenue and usage during the first quarter of this year. To support that growth, the startup is pursuing additional computing capacity.
As part of capacity expansion efforts, Anthropic has arranged a nearly $45 billion agreement with SpaceX and a separate $1.8 billion deal with Akamai Technologies Inc. It has also secured chips and cloud services from Alphabet Inc.'s Google to bolster its infrastructure.
For context on relative valuations, OpenAI was most recently valued at $852 billion in a funding round completed in March. The proposed Anthropic financing would place the Claude maker above that figure if the valuation exceeds $900 billion as reported.
Summary
Anthropic is reported to be close to finalizing a funding round that could top $30 billion and value the company above $900 billion. The round is being co-led by Sequoia Capital, Dragoneer, Altimeter Capital and Greenoaks Capital Partners, with participation expected from prior investors such as Founders Fund and General Catalyst. The company has presented strong revenue growth to investors, including a projected $10.9 billion in second-quarter revenue and plans to exceed a $50 billion annualized run rate by next month. Anthropic is also expanding compute capacity through major agreements with SpaceX, Akamai and by procuring chips and cloud services from Google.
Key points
- Planned financing could exceed $30 billion and value Anthropic above $900 billion, potentially making it the most valuable AI startup.
- Co-leads include Sequoia, Dragoneer, Altimeter and Greenoaks; existing investors such as Founders Fund and General Catalyst are expected to participate.
- Anthropic reports rapid revenue growth - a projected $10.9 billion in Q2 and a targeted >$50 billion annualized run rate by next month - and is expanding compute capacity through large agreements with SpaceX and Akamai and vendor relationships with Google.
Risks and uncertainties
- Deal terms are not yet final - commitments are still being negotiated and could change, introducing execution risk for the financing and valuation. This affects capital markets and venture investment dynamics.
- Rapid scaling of compute capacity is underway via major contracts, but the company is actively working to secure additional resources; supply and integration of computing infrastructure present operational uncertainty for the cloud and datacenter services sectors.
- Revenue and run-rate projections are based on the company's internal reporting to investors; future quarters could diverge from those projections, which has implications for market valuation and investor expectations.