Anthropic, the maker of the Claude chatbot, has raised $65 billion in private funding, pushing its valuation to $965 billion and making it the world's most valuable AI startup. The five-year-old company now surpasses chief rival OpenAI both in market value and reported revenue, which stands at $47 billion annually.
Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives, Anthropic is expected to go public alongside OpenAI and Elon Musk's SpaceX. Despite rapid growth, all three companies continue to lose money, raising concerns of an AI bubble.
The funding round was led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer Investment Group, Greenoaks Capital, and Sequoia Capital. Anthropic also launched its newest AI model, Claude Opus 4.8, which improves coding and professional task performance.
Anthropic's ascent has left OpenAI playing catch-up, despite its early lead with ChatGPT. OpenAI last reported a valuation of $852 billion after a $122 billion funding round in March. SpaceX, after merging with xAI, is valued at $1.25 trillion.
Anthropic faced challenges this year, including a legal dispute with the Trump administration over AI use in warfare. President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Claude, and Anthropic sued. The company is also in talks with the White House regarding its powerful new model, Mythos.
Influencing global discourse, Anthropic played a role at the Vatican ahead of Pope Leo XIV's call for robust AI regulation, emphasizing the common good over profit.