The creator of Claude is considering offers from investors that would significantly increase its current valuation, according to sources who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information. These discussions are still in the very initial stages, with no offers accepted yet, the sources mentioned.
Previously, Anthropic had turned down several inbound offers for a new funding round at a valuation of $800 billion or above, according to Bloomberg News.
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The current negotiations, which have not been previously reported, come as Anthropic aims to boost its fundraising efforts amid the impressive success of its AI software. Bloomberg has noted that the company is contemplating an initial public offering as early as October, as it seeks additional infrastructure to support the rising demand for its offerings.
Anthropic opted not to comment.
Recently, Google committed to investing $10 billion in Anthropic at a valuation of $350 billion, matching its valuation during a funding round in February. The Alphabet Inc.-owned company also intends to invest up to an additional $30 billion in Anthropic contingent on the startup achieving specific performance benchmarks.
Amazon.com Inc. is similarly investing $5 billion at the same $350 billion valuation, with plans to gradually inject another $20 billion. It remains uncertain if these companies will participate in the upcoming funding round.
Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, Anthropic has quickly positioned itself as a prominent player in the AI landscape, creating a suite of AI tools designed to transform business operations across various domains, from coding to cybersecurity.
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In early April, Anthropic introduced a new model called Mythos, claimed to detect and exploit vulnerabilities in various critical software. However, the company has deemed it too risky for widespread release, allowing only a select group of companies to test it within their systems. Reports from Bloomberg News indicate that the model has been accessed by a small number of unauthorized users.
As Anthropic continues to gain traction, it has intensified the competition with OpenAI, which is also anticipated to go public soon. The ChatGPT developer has reportedly struggled to meet some of its revenue and user growth targets amid competition from both Anthropic and Google.
OpenAI has been making efforts to streamline its extensive product lineup, focusing on AI agents and a new model. The company was last valued at $852 billion in a funding round concluded in March.
