Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has taken a major step toward becoming a publicly traded company after confidentially filing initial public offering (IPO) paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), positioning itself ahead of rival OpenAI in the race to enter the public markets.
The company announced on Monday that it had submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the SEC. However, key details, including the number of shares to be offered and the proposed price range, have not yet been disclosed.
If completed, the IPO would make Anthropic the first leading generative AI company to list on a public stock exchange, marking a significant milestone for the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence industry.
In a statement, Anthropic said the filing gives it the flexibility to proceed with a public offering once the SEC completes its review process.
The company noted that the timing of any listing would depend on regulatory approval, market conditions, and other business considerations.
“Today, Anthropic confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of our common stock,” the company stated.
Anthropic emphasised that the filing does not constitute an offer to sell securities and that any future offering would comply with applicable U.S. securities laws.
The IPO move comes shortly after reports that Anthropic secured fresh funding that valued the company at approximately $965 billion, surpassing OpenAI’s last reported valuation of about $852 billion in March 2026.
The development underscores the growing investor appetite for artificial intelligence companies as businesses increasingly adopt AI-powered tools across industries.
Anthropic’s growth has been driven largely by strong demand for its AI products, particularly Claude Code, its software development and coding assistant platform.
The company has expanded its portfolio aggressively in 2026, rolling out new products for developers and enterprise customers while enhancing its flagship Claude family of AI models.
According to company disclosures, Anthropic’s annualised revenue run rate exceeded $47 billion in early May, up from $30 billion in April and roughly $9 billion a year earlier, highlighting the explosive growth occurring across the generative AI sector.
The IPO filing further intensifies competition between Anthropic and OpenAI, which are widely regarded as the two leading players in the frontier AI market.
Both companies are competing aggressively for enterprise customers, developer adoption, computing infrastructure, strategic partnerships, and investment capital as global demand for AI solutions continues to surge.
Anthropic has strengthened its position through partnerships with major technology companies, including Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft, particularly in cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and enterprise AI deployment.
The company has also attracted substantial support from Alphabet Inc., which expanded its investment in Anthropic in 2025 with an additional $1 billion commitment, building on earlier funding rounds worth billions of dollars.
With its IPO filing now underway, Anthropic has become the first major AI startup to formally begin the process of entering public markets, potentially setting the stage for one of the most closely watched technology listings in recent years.
