Led by Dario Amodei, Anthropic is positioned for a potentially historic IPO. The company has gained ground on rivals OpenAI and Google by focusing on business customers, announcing in May that its annualized revenue had surpassed $47 billion. Institutional investors have poured nearly $100 billion into the startup in 2026, pushing its valuation to $965 billion.

Despite this growth, the company faces significant hurdles. Anthropic is in active litigation against the US Department of Defense and faced Commerce Department export controls in June, forcing the brief removal of its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models.

Market challenges also persist as customers become sensitive to costs. Anthropic’s leading model costs more than two and a half times as much as OpenAI’s flagship. While Ramp data shows increased US business market share, analysts suggest companies are hitting their AI spend limits and seeking cheaper alternatives. Still, investors point to the company's performance and positioning, citing Space X's $1.77 trillion valuation as a benchmark for success.