Anthropic (Claude) May Be the Only $1 Trillion IPO Worth Buying

With SpaceX potentially just days away from going public, I think many investors expected OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, to be the next trillion-dollar initial public offering (IPO).

However, Anthropic, the parent company of Claude, has beaten them to the punch. The company announced on June 1 that it has confidentially filed to go public with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

This filing allows the company to go public following the SEC's review, although Anthropic made it clear that whether it actually follows through with an IPO will depend on market conditions and other factors.

While many details about the company remain unknown, Anthropic could end up being the only $1 trillion IPO worth buying.

These trillion-dollar IPOs will launch with sky-high valuations

Interestingly, Anthropic is planning an IPO after just announcing a $65 billion series H private funding round at a post-money valuation of $965 billion.

Investors might have assumed that would give the company some runway, but perhaps the company wants to take advantage of strong market conditions for AI companies to raise more money at a higher valuation.

Image source: Getty Images.

The $965 billion valuation officially eclipsed OpenAI, which earlier this year closed a $122 billion private funding round at an $852 billion valuation.

SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI all promise to be game-changing companies and already have begun to change the game to an extent. But Anthropic could offer investors a more realistic valuation.

SpaceX is not yet profitable and grew revenue 33% year over year in 2025 -- a massive increase for any company, but still perhaps slower than investors are looking for. With nearly $18.7 billion of revenue in 2025, SpaceX, at a $1.8 trillion valuation, would be asking for a trailing-12-month revenue multiple of 100x.

Now, of course, these companies aren't going to be valued on fundamentals and could define new sectors with tremendous runways. The problem is that these valuations are baking in an incredible amount of success and may not account for roadblocks that could arise.

In March, OpenAI reportedly hit a $25 billion annualized revenue run rate. Reports also suggest that the company will seek an IPO valuation of $1 trillion or more. If this were to be the case, it would be asking for a 40x forward revenue multiple because revenue run rate essentially annualizes one month's number.

However, media reports earlier this year suggested that the company has been struggling to hit internal revenue targets. Furthermore, the company reportedly has $600 billion of data center commitments by 2030. Finally, as recently as April, media outlets reported that OpenAI is not expected to turn a profit until at least 2030.

Anthropic is further along

Anthropic has come a long way since the release of AI chatbots in 2022. OpenAI once looked like it had a lead that it would never surrender. However, Anthropic has now surpassed it in terms of valuation.

Tools like Claude Code have resonated incredibly well, and enterprises appear to view Anthropic as the better large language model (LLM) company.

The company also appears to have been more conservative with spending commitments. CEO Dario Amodei said on a podcast in February, "I think it is true we're spending somewhat less than some of the other players."

Other media outlets have reported that the company expects to hit a nearly $50 billion annualized revenue run rate by the end of June, up from $30 billion in April, and turn an operating profit in the current quarter.

That would be quite impressive.

If Anthropic targeted a $1 trillion valuation in an IPO, it would only be asking investors for a 20x forward revenue multiple, half of what OpenAI would potentially request. The path to profitability also carries significant sway.

Now, it's hard to know exactly what kind of valuation Anthropic will target, given its success. People betting on Polymarket, however, are placing a 53% chance (as of June 3) that the stock closes its first day of trading at a market cap over $1.8 trillion.

This isn't necessarily the IPO valuation Anthropic is looking for, but what the market would assign it after having its first chance to buy the stock.

Obviously, there is still a lot we don't know, and investors will want to review the company's registration statement before making a determination. But right now, there is a chance Anthropic goes public at a valuation much more reasonable than SpaceX or OpenAI's.

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