If not for the growing rivalry between OpenAI and Anthropic, the generative AI boom might not have spread so quickly over the past couple of years.
In late 2022, OpenAI caught wind that Anthropic was working on an AI-powered chatbot. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman immediately directed employees to fast-track a competing product, four people familiar with the matter said.
Only two weeks later, the company released ChatGPT, sparking a technological revolution that promises to overhaul the global economy and the way humans interact.
The same urgency now extends to plans for their blockbuster initial public offerings (IPOs).
The companies are racing to beat one another to market, viewing a first listing as a way to frame how investors will value the companies and establish their CEO as the leading voice of AI.
