Anthropic, the AI startup behind the Claude models, is raising approximately $20 billion in a funding round that values the company at a staggering $350 billion, according to reports from the Financial Times and The Information. This amount is double the company's initial $10 billion target, driven by overwhelming investor demand that was reportedly five times the original size of the round.
The funding is being led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and the U.S. investment firm Coatue Management. Major commitments are also expected from Sequoia Capital, with participation from existing backers such as Iconiq Capital, Altameter Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, G Squared, and Factorial Funds. Tech giants Microsoft and Nvidia are also noted as participants.
The capital infusion comes as Anthropic prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO) later this year. The company has hired law firm Wilson Sonsini for early IPO preparations and has held preliminary discussions with banks. The fundraising is expected to occur in tranches, with an initial $10 billion to $15 billion secured as early as this week, followed by the remainder in the coming weeks.
Financially, Anthropic has dramatically revised its revenue projections upward. The company now expects 2026 revenue to reach up to $18 billion, a near-quadrupling from previous levels and a 20% increase over prior internal forecasts. Revenue for 2027 is projected to hit approximately $55 billion. However, rising costs for training and operating AI models have pushed the company's target for becoming cash-flow positive back to 2028, about a year later than previously expected.
Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers Dario and Daniela Amodei, Anthropic has built its reputation on "constitutional AI," a method focused on making large language models safer and more predictable. Its Claude models have gained significant enterprise traction, supported by multibillion-dollar cloud partnership deals with Amazon and Google.
The funding round underscores the intense competition and investor fervor in the generative AI sector, positioning Anthropic as one of the world's most valuable startups alongside rival OpenAI. The capital is earmarked for research and development, infrastructure scaling, and talent acquisition to advance the company's mission of creating reliable AI.
