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Anthropic has officially entered the IPO race, announcing the submission of a confidential initial public offering (IPO) filing to regulators in preparation for listing its shares on the US stock market. This move has been eagerly anticipated by investors and those following the artificial intelligence sector. While the company has not yet disclosed the number of shares offered or the expected price range, this step marks a clear beginning to its transformation from a rapidly growing private player into a direct competitor on the public market.
This highly anticipated IPO is one of the most eagerly awaited events on Wall Street this year, as artificial intelligence continues to reshape the technology landscape and drive investors toward companies capable of leading this technological revolution. As is typical for high-growth technology companies, Anthropic opted for a private placement, a method that gives management greater flexibility to gauge investor appetite, review disclosures, and make any necessary adjustments before proceeding to a full public offering.
But what’s even more striking than the IPO itself is the company’s enormous valuation. Anthropic successfully raised $65 billion last week in a Series H funding round, bringing its valuation to approximately $965 billion post-funding, thus approaching the trillion-dollar mark.
Market forecasts suggest that Anthropic’s IPO valuation could comfortably exceed $1 trillion, placing it above its rival OpenAI, which was valued at approximately $852 billion in its most recent funding round. This comparison is further amplified by the fact that Anthropic’s founders are primarily from OpenAI, adding another layer of competition between the two companies in the race for dominance in the artificial intelligence market.
The company’s growth trajectory reflects an exceptional speed that is difficult to ignore. In March 2025, Anthropic was valued at only about $60 billion, before jumping in fifteen months to nearly $1 trillion, a growth of more than fifteen times in a short period of time, which in the world of startups is more like a vertical takeoff than a traditional growth trajectory.
Anthropic’s move is not isolated; it comes amid a broader wave of anticipated IPOs that could make 2026 an exceptional year for the IPO market. OpenAI is also working with investment banks to prepare a confidential prospectus, with expectations of a possible market entry in the third quarter or by the end of the year. Meanwhile, all eyes are on SpaceX, which is believed to be heading to the public within weeks, with valuations approaching $2 trillion.
While headlines focus on benchmark ratings, the core of the scene is a deeper battle for influence and market share within the artificial intelligence sector. Anthropic and OpenAI continue to develop new models and compete for corporate clients, developers, and computing power, in a race that is no longer limited to chatbot rankings or the quality of language models, but has extended to the financial markets themselves as the next arena for proving superiority and dominance.
