Anthropic's path from AI startup to industry-defining IPO

Anthropic has filed for a U.S. IPO, moving closer to becoming the first frontier AI lab to go public, with a prospectus claiming AI will reshape the global economy more profoundly than industrialization, electricity, and the internet. The company, founded in May 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, has raised billions from investors including Amazon, Google, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Its valuation has surged from $124 million in initial funding to $965 billion by May 2026, driven by successive model releases like Claude and Mythos. Anthropic faces legal and political hurdles, including a $1.5 billion copyright settlement and a dispute with the Pentagon over national security restrictions. The company projects 2028 revenue of roughly $190 billion to $200 billion, with an annual run rate topping $65 billion by July 2026.