The two leading AI labs have chosen opposite routes to the public markets. Anthropic is racing toward an initial public offering that could land as early as mid-November, while OpenAI has postponed its own 2026 listing plans and is instead raising another round of private capital.
Anthropic confidentially filed a draft S-1 with the SEC on June 1, then held off to show investors its third-quarter results at an investor day on October 14. The numbers gave it momentum: revenue hit $16.8 billion in Q3, up from $11.5 billion in Q2 and $4.7 billion in Q1. The company says it hit adjusted profitability for a second straight quarter with positive free cash flow, and claims $1.70 in revenue per $1 of computing spend — a compute margin above 40%. Reports suggest the listing could value the Claude maker at as much as $2 trillion. A leaked draft prospectus also showed the scale: an $80.7 billion first-half net loss against $16.3 billion in revenue, with cloud commitments reportedly topping $750 billion.
OpenAI is staying private. CEO Sam Altman told Fortune in September that going public now would be “an ill-advised moment,” citing growing concerns about AI risks and the company’s unusual nonprofit/for-profit split. Its operating loss widened to $12.3 billion in Q2. Reuters reports OpenAI is seeking about $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion valuation before Anthropic lists — locking in funding before audited financials invite direct comparison.
The public S-1 must appear at least 15 days before the roadshow, reportedly expected November 9 — so the filing should surface by October 25, or the debut slips. For a side-by-side look at the products behind these valuations, see our comparison of the best AI chatbots in 2026, covering ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and more.
Source: The Motley Fool
