Anthropic reportedly preparing for massive IPO in race with OpenAI: FT

Anthropic, the AI ​​startup behind the popular Claude chatbot, is in early talks to launch one of its largest initial public offerings as early as next year, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

For the potential IPO, Anthropic has retained the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, which previously worked at High-profile technology IPOs The Financial Times said, citing two sources familiar with the matter, such as Google, LinkedIn and Lyft.

The startup, led by CEO Dario Amodei, was also seeking a private funding round that could value it at more than $300 billion, including a $15 billion co-commitment from Microsoft and Nvidiaaccording to the report.

Anthropic has also discussed a potential IPO with major investment banks, but sources described the discussions as preliminary and informal, she added.

If true, the news could put Anthropic in a race to market with rival OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, which is also… It is said Laying the foundation for a public offering. The potential listings will also test investors’ appetite for loss-making AI startups amid growing fears of a so-called AI bubble.

However, an Anthropic spokesperson told the Financial Times: “It is fairly standard practice for companies operating at our scale and revenue level to operate effectively as if they were publicly traded companies,” adding that no decisions have been made about the timing or whether it will go public.

CNBC was unable to reach Anthropic and Wilson Sonsini, who advised Anthropic. For a few yearsfor comment.

According to one Financial Times source, Anthropic was working through internal preparations for a potential listing, although details were not provided.

The Financial Times report follows several notable changes at the company recently, including Hiring former Airbnb CEO Krishna Raowho played a major role in the company 2020 IPO.

CNBC too I mentioned Last month, Anthropic was recently valued at up to $350 billion after receiving investments of up to $5 billion from Microsoft and $10 billion from Nvidia.

In its race to overtake OpenAI in the AI ​​space, the startup has also expanded aggressively, recently announcing Creating a $50 billion AI infrastructure With data centers in Texas, New York, and Triple its international workforce.

According to an FT report, investors in the company are excited about Anthropic’s potential IPO, which could result in it “seizing the initiative” from OpenAI.

While OpenAI has been rumored to be considering an IPO, the company’s CFO recently said that the company is considering it Not pursuing the listing in the near termeven when I closed a Selling shares worth $6.6 billion With a valuation of $500 billion in October.