Anthropic steps up IPO prep in race against OpenAI - Dec. 03,

Anthropic (ANTHRO)—an AI start-up backed by Google (GOOG) and Amazon (AMZN)—recruited a U.S. law firm, Wilson Sonsini, to start work on its IPO as early as 2026, according to a Financial Times report that cites people with knowledge of the matter.

The discussions remain in early stages, with no underwriters appointed yet; however, the potential IPO is discussed with big investment banks. The Claude chatbot maker is also in talks for a private funding round that would value it at more than $300B, the report added.

“It’s fairly standard practice for companies operating at our scale and revenue level to effectively operate as if they are publicly traded companies,” Anthropic (ANTHRO) spokesperson told FT. “We haven’t made any decisions about when or even whether to go public, and don’t have any news to share at this time.”

While one of the sources said that Anthropic (ANTHRO) could be ready for a 2026 IPO, another cautioned that an IPO so soon was unlikely.

Wilson Sonsini has advised Anthropic (ANTHRO) since 2022 and has also worked on other tech IPOs such as Google (GOOG), LinkedIn, and Lyft (LYFT).

Its rival OpenAI (OPENAI) is also preparing for a possible IPO in late 2026, at a potential $1T valuation.