Skip to Content News Archives Economy Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials HomeFinancial TimesAnthropic investors bet on US$2 trillion valuation in record IPORapid revenue growth fuels hope Claude maker can overcome challenges to become the biggest listing in historyAuthor of the article: You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.Anthropic's Project Glasswing website arranged on a laptop in Forest Hills, New York, U.S., on Friday, April 10, 2026. Photo by Gabby Jones/BloombergAnthropic PBC investors expect the AI start-up to float at a valuation of US$2 trillion or more in October, a dizzying figure that would eclipse SpaceX and make the AI lab’s debut the largest ever initial public offering.Half a dozen of the company’s backers told the FT that Anthropic’s rapidly rising revenue would enable it to more than double its current valuation in a planned autumn float.A listing at that level could unlock billions of dollars in gains for the five-year-old company’s early investors but would also test public markets that are growing more nervous about the AI boom. Anthropic’s backers say booming demand for the lab’s advanced AI models and tools justifies their lofty expectations. Investors expect the Claude maker’s annualised revenue to be between US$100 billion and US$120 billion by the end of 2026 — using the start-up’s preferred measure, which infers full-year sales from recent performance — up by more than 10 times over the course of 2026.“If Anthropic is growing 800 per cent a year, you’d think at the incredibly low end they would trade at 30 times [revenue],” said one investor in the group. “That would make them a US$3 trillion company.”Anthropic lacks a publicly listed U.S. peer that would provide a benchmark for its valuation. But companies that are seen as AI beneficiaries, such as data intelligence group Palantir and cloud company Nebius, have traded this year at roughly 55 times revenue.Several investors said senior Anthropic executives had yet to fix the valuation target for the IPO, even in private conversations. But investors have built their own financial models.Their bullish projections come despite mounting challenges, including rising competition from Chinese rivals, pressure for AI regulation and a simmering feud with the U.S. government.Those concerns, particularly the commerce department’s temporary ban on Anthropic’s best models, contributed to overall revenue growth slowing in the month of June, according to two investors with knowledge of the matter. Even so, they said the company had rebounded and continued to grow at an extraordinary rate even by Silicon Valley standards.Anthropic declined to comment.The start-up led by Dario Amodei filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June, putting the company in a quiet period that limits public announcements about its financial performance.Anthropic has gained ground on rivals OpenAI and Google this year, releasing models that have outperformed competitors while focusing on sales to business customers. The group announced in May that its annualised revenue had surpassed US$47 billion.Venture capitalists, sovereign wealth funds and other institutional investors have poured just under US$100 billion into the company in 2026. Anthropic’s valuation leapfrogged OpenAI’s for the first time in May, reaching US$965 billion including the new investment.But the group also faces considerable uncertainty. It has repeatedly clashed with the Trump administration and remains in active litigation against the U.S. Department of Defense, which labelled Anthropic a supply-chain risk earlier this year.Anthropic has since been forced to briefly pull its leading models Fable 5 and Mythos 5 after being hit with export controls by the commerce department in June. The episode spooked some customers who rely on Anthropic models.Customers are also increasingly sensitive to the price of accessing the best models. Faced with spiralling costs, they have in some cases reversed directives for employees to maximise their AI use and opted for less powerful, cheaper models.Anthropic’s market-leading model costs more than two and a half times as much to use as OpenAI’s flagship, while Chinese open-weight alternatives, which have also improved dramatically this year, are a fraction of the cost, according to Artificial Analysis, which analyses AI models.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorGet the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againAnthropic increased its market share among US businesses last month, according to data from payments group Ramp. But analysts at the company found that businesses were “hitting their limit on AI spend” and turning to cheaper alternatives. “It’s easy to come up with challenges,” said an Anthropic investor who has also backed AI groups including OpenAI and SpaceX, which went public at a US$1.77 trillion valuation in June. “But the company continues to be in first position in performance, positioning and what people want exposure to.”Additional reporting by Zijing Wu and Ivan Levingston© 2026 The Financial Times Ltd Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. 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