Anthropic eyes $900 billion valuation in likely final private round

Anthropic is asking investors to submit allocations—defined as the amount of investment an investor is permitted to contribute to a round—for its latest fundraise within 48 hours, according to sources familiar with the matter. The funding round is expected to be roughly $50 billion, as reported by TechCrunch, and is estimated to close within two weeks, according to sources. For this round, Anthropic is targeting a valuation of about $900 billion. However, due to strong demand from investors, the final valuation may well exceed that $900 billion figure, according to sources.

The massive fundraise follows rapid growth in the company’s financial metrics. Anthropic announced this month that its annual revenue run rate—a financial metric used to project future performance based on current revenue—has surpassed $30 billion. However, the company’s run rate is currently closer to $40 billion, according to sources with knowledge of the company’s financials. This represents a significant jump from February, when Anthropic raised its last round at a $380 billion valuation.

To put the scale of this potential round into perspective, a comparison of the financial metrics of Anthropic and its chief rival, OpenAI, highlights the escalating capital battle:

• Anthropic (current round): Targeting a valuation of about $900 billion, with an expected round size of roughly $50 billion.
• Anthropic (previous round): Valued at $380 billion in February.
• OpenAI (recent round): Closed a record-breaking $122 billion round at an $852 billion post-money valuation—the value of a company after external financing has been added—earlier this year.

This upcoming fundraise is likely to be the company’s last private round before going public. Because of this timeline, some early backers are skipping this round to wait for the anticipated IPO—Initial Public Offering, the process of offering shares of a private corporation to the public in a new stock issuance. By waiting, these investors are choosing to bypass the current private raise in favor of the public market.

Why it matters

At a potential $900 billion valuation, Anthropic would not only more than double its previous valuation of $380 billion but would also surpass its chief rival, OpenAI, which closed its record-breaking $122 billion round at an $852 billion post-money valuation earlier this year.