OpenAI is no longer the most expensive AI startup in the world
The developer of the neural network Claude — the startup Anthropic — has raised $65 billion in its eighth round of funding (Series H). As a result, the company's valuation has grown to a record $965 billion.
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This allowed it to overtake its main competitor OpenAI and achieve the status of the world's most expensive AI business, reports Office Life.
The financial round was led by venture market heavyweights: Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia Capital. The deal also involved major global funds, including Temasek and Fidelity, and an additional $15 billion came from previously confirmed infusions from tech giants led by Amazon.
The growing investor interest is linked to Anthropic's performance. According to the company's CFO, Krishna Rao, in May, the AI developer's current annual revenue exceeded $47 billion. Since the previous funding round in February, demand from global corporations has increased severalfold.
Anthropic will direct the billions raised towards expanding its computing power. The company has already signed agreements for the supply of 5 GW of energy from Amazon, similar contracts for next-generation TPU chips with Google and Broadcom, and has also agreed with SpaceX to lease GPU arrays on Colossus 1 and Colossus 2 supercomputers.
Anthropic's new round coincided with preparations for major tech listings. It was previously announced that OpenAI plans an autumn IPO with a target valuation of up to $1 trillion amidst projected losses of $14 billion for 2026.
Anthropic's actions strip the creators of ChatGPT of their status as the most expensive startup and create competition for fund capital. Notably, Elon Musk's SpaceX is also involved in the AI race. The aerospace company, which recently filed for an IPO, is simultaneously developing its own loss-making AI project and leasing computing servers to Anthropic.