Anthropic Surpasses OpenAI as Most Valuable AI Startup

CNBC reported Thursday that Anthropic has overtaken OpenAI to become Silicon Valley’s most valuable artificial intelligence company. The Claude maker closed a $65 billion Series H financing round at an Anthropic valuation of $965 billion, putting it within striking distance of a $1 trillion milestone.

A Round That Nearly Triples Anthropic’s Worth

The latest financing was led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia Capital. The deal represents a near-tripling of Anthropic’s $380 billion valuation from just three months ago in February. That pace of appreciation is extraordinary even by AI-era standards. The new figure also eclipses the $852 billion valuation OpenAI achieved after closing its own record $122 billion round in late March.

Revenue Growth Drives Investor Confidence

Anthropic’s appeal to backers is underpinned by explosive revenue momentum. The company disclosed a $47 billion annualized revenue run rate on Thursday. That figure compares to a $30 billion run rate earlier this year and $10 billion in full-year revenue last year. Much of that growth is attributed to Claude Code, Anthropic’s AI-powered coding assistant, which has attracted a rapidly expanding base of enterprise customers. CFO Krishna Rao pointed to surging global demand in a statement, saying the new capital would fund research ambitions and broader deployment of Claude-based products.

Background: A Crowded Race to Go Public

Anthropic’s rise plays out against a broader AI industry push toward the public markets. Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which absorbed his AI venture SpaceXAI in February at a combined $1.25 trillion valuation, filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week. OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, is also preparing a confidential IPO filing and could list as early as September, per sources cited by CNBC. Anthropic itself is quietly working toward a public offering, though no firm timeline has been set.

New Models Add Technical Credibility

Alongside the funding announcement, Anthropic released Claude Opus 4.8, its newest flagship model. The company also unveiled Claude Mythos Preview, a model built with advanced cybersecurity capabilities. Access to Mythos Preview remains limited to a select group of partner companies for now. The dual product launches signal Anthropic’s intent to compete on research depth, not just commercial scale.

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