OpenAI vs. Anthropic: AI’s IPO race begins

Hello,

OpenAI and Anthropic built the defining rivalry of the AI boom. Now, according to The Information’s reporting, that competition is moving toward a new arena: the public markets.

The race to list

Anthropic has made a confidential IPO filing, while OpenAI has selected top law firms to help prepare for its own potential listing. The timing sets up one of the most consequential public-market tests in tech: whether investors will reward the companies building frontier AI at enormous scale, or push back on the costs required to keep them there.

Two different AI stories

OpenAI has the brand power, revenue growth and consumer reach that made ChatGPT synonymous with the AI boom. Public-market investors are also scrutinizing its spending, infrastructure commitments and long path to profitability. But yesterday we reported that OpenAI engineers discovered a way to cut inference in half, which could give the company a clearer path to better margins.

Anthropic, meanwhile, has gained momentum with enterprise customers and is increasingly being viewed as one of OpenAI’s most serious challengers. Anthropic is also making moves to cut its compute costs in the long run.

Why it matters

The race is not just about who lists first. It is about how Wall Street will value AI’s next phase, from model costs and data center needs to employee liquidity and competitive pressure between the industry’s two most closely watched labs.

That is where The Information gives readers an edge. Our reporters have been tracking the IPO prep, investor skepticism, employee share sales and financing pressures shaping both companies’ paths before they become obvious to the broader market.

Subscribe now and save 25% on your first year of the Information Annual to follow exclusive reporting on OpenAI, Anthropic and the future of AI on Wall Street.

For readers following the next phase of AI, The Information Pro goes even deeper.