Anthropic says revenue jumped to nearly US$17bil last quarter

Anthropic reported that its revenue surged approximately 50% to $16.8 billion in the September quarter, marking profitability on an adjusted basis for the preceding six months, according to US media outlets. The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm is reportedly on track for an initial public offering (IPO) in November, following the US midterm elections, and is targeting a valuation of $2 trillion, surpassing SpaceX's record-setting $1.8 trillion valuation during its debut in June.

During a private investor meeting at its headquarters in San Francisco, Anthropic presented financial updates calculated on an adjusted basis, which excludes certain costs. The company disclosed that it was free cash flow positive and boasted an 11% operating margin on an adjusted basis in the third quarter. However, Anthropic recorded a net loss of $42 billion last year and aims to capture a $30 trillion market, as previously reported.

Annualized revenue for Anthropic reached $65 billion earlier this year, with projections indicating it could reach $100 billion by the end of 2026, according to the New York Times. This exceeds the revenue of its main competitor, OpenAI, which is estimated at $50 billion annually, as reported by Axios. While both companies use different methods to calculate annualized revenue figures, making direct comparisons challenging, Anthropic's primary product, Claude, is designed to rival OpenAI's popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT. OpenAI plans to postpone its IPO until 2027.