Artificial Intelligence firm Anthropic has hired the law firm Wilson Sonsini to prepare for an initial public offering that could take place as early as 2026, according to the Financial Times. An IPO would give the company a more efficient way to raise capital and provide leverage for bigger acquisitions through public stock.
An Anthropic spokesperson told Reuters the company has not decided when or even if it will go public. The company has previously turned to Wilson Sonsini for a range of corporate matters.
The FT report said Anthropic could be prepared to list in 2026. The startup has also discussed with major investment banks about a potential IPO. However, the talks are in their early stages, and informal, with the company still being far from selecting its IPO underwriters.
Anthropic is negotiating a private funding round that could give the startup a valuation exceeding $300 billion, the report added.
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Anthropic currently has more than 300,000 business and enterprise customers. The company, which is led by Dario Amodei, is projecting to more than double and potentially nearly triple its annualized revenue run rate to around $26 billion next year.
If Anthropic goes ahead with an IPO, it will position the firm in a race with its rival OpenAI, which is also reportedly laying the groundwork for a public offering. The listings would test investors’ appetite for loss-making AI startups amid fears of an “AI bubble”.
According to previous reports, OpenAI is considering filing with securities regulators as soon as the second half of 2026. The company has looked at raising $60 billion at the low end and likely more, during preliminary discussions.
Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has told some associates the company is aiming for a 2027 listing, the people said. But some advisers predict it could come even sooner, around late 2026. The company’s chief financial officer recently said the company is not pursuing a near-term listing, even as it closed a $6.6 billion share sale at a $500 billion valuation in October.
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Meanwhile, the news about Anthropic’s IPO comes following a number of recent changes to the company. This includes the hiring of former Airbnb executive Krishna Rao, who played a key role in the firm’s 2020 IPO. CNBC also reported last month that Anthropic was recently valued to the range of $350 billion after receiving investments of up to $5 billion from Microsoft and $10 billion from Nvidia.
Anthropic has been spending aggressively to advance in its competition with OpenAI. It recently announced a $50 billion AI infrastructure build-out with data centers in Texas and New York, and tripling its international workforce. According to the FT report, investors in the company are enthusiastic about Anthropic’s potential IPO, which could see it “seize the initiative” from OpenAI.