AI startup Anthropic appears to be close to its first profitable quarter ever. The developer of the AI model Claude expects to generate approximately $10.9 billion in revenue in the second quarter.
That figure is more than double the amount from the first three months of the year, Bloomberg reports, citing information shared with investors. Anthropic is also expected to post a profit for the first time. For the quarter ending in June, the company is reportedly counting on an operating profit of approximately $559 million. However, according to sources close to the company, this does not mean that profitability is now structural. Anthropic continues to invest heavily in data center capacity, chips, and other infrastructure needed to offer AI services on a large scale.
Claude Gains Ground with Business Customers
While OpenAI remained the dominant name in generative AI for a long time, Anthropic has been attracting more and more business customers in recent quarters. The company’s so-called AI agents, in particular, are reportedly resonating with companies that use AI for software development, automation, and internal workflows.
That rapid growth also seems to be making investors willing to dig deep into their pockets again. Anthropic is reportedly in talks for a new funding round at a valuation of over $900 billion. That would place the company above OpenAI’s last known valuation in the private market.
IPO Possible This Year
An IPO for Anthropic also appears to be becoming increasingly likely. According to earlier reports by Bloomberg, the company is exploring an IPO that could take place as early as October. This would put Anthropic in direct competition with OpenAI, which is also working on plans for a public listing later this year.
According to insiders, Anthropic has already held exploratory talks with major investment banks about a potential IPO. Names such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley are being mentioned for key roles in the IPO. An IPO could raise more than $60 billion. Earlier this year, during an investment round, Anthropic was valued at approximately $380 billion. The company also maintains close partnerships with Google, Amazon, and Nvidia, among others, which are investing in AI infrastructure and chips for the startup.
Anthropic itself has not provided a substantive response to the leaked financial projections. The Wall Street Journal also reported on the figures earlier.