Anthropic files confidential SEC filing and overtakes OpenAI in IPO race

Anthropic, the developer of the AI assistant Claude, has filed confidential IPO documents with the SEC, winning the race against OpenAI for now. Bloomberg reports that the company has not disclosed either the planned size of the offering or specific terms – a standard procedure for confidential filings.

The move marks the beginning of a process that observers say could reach historic proportions. Al Jazeera writes that the Anthropic IPO, together with possible debuts of other AI firms like OpenAI, could rank among the largest in US history. Wall Street is following developments with great interest: the filing is seen as confirmation that the hype around artificial intelligence has now completely captured the capital markets.

Strategic advantage in AI competition

Anthropic's decision to take this step before OpenAI is strategically significant. heise online explains that the company can thereby address investors first among the major AI labs – an advantage in the fiercely competitive market for institutional capital. Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, including CEO Dario Amodei and his sister Daniela Amodei, and has positioned itself as a serious competitor with its focus on AI safety and the Claude model.

The company has raised billions from investors like Google and Amazon in recent years. An IPO would allow it to supplement this capital through public markets while offering early investors and employees an exit. NPR reports that the filing marks the beginning of an expected boom in AI IPOs that is likely to shape the entire industry.

Next steps in the process

A concrete date for the listing has not yet been set. The confidential filing gives Anthropic time to align the documents with the SEC before they become publicly available – a process that typically takes several weeks to months.