Anthropic Eyes $10B Funding Round at $350B Valuation

Anthropic is in discussions to raise about $10 billion in a new funding round that would value the company at roughly $350 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

If completed, the deal would nearly double the AI company’s valuation from just four months ago and place it among the most valuable private technology companies in the world.

The talks, which are ongoing and could still change according to the New York Times, underscore the extraordinary pace at which capital is flowing into AI firms as investors bet that generative AI will reshape industries ranging from software and media to healthcare and defense.

Racing for scale

The financing discussions are expected to be led by Coatue Management and GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, alongside existing shareholders. Anthropic declined to comment. (Maybe they could use ChatGPT to draft a reply in future.)

The potential funding round comes amid growing speculation that Anthropic is preparing for an initial public offering within the next 12 to 18 months. Such a move would mirror broader momentum across the AI sector, where companies are raising massive sums to fund increasingly expensive computing infrastructure while positioning themselves for eventual public listings.

Developing advanced AI systems has become one of the most capital-intensive pursuits in the technology industry. Training large language models requires vast amounts of computing power, specialized chips, data storage, and electricity. As a result, even the most promising AI companies are consuming cash at unprecedented rates, heightening both investor enthusiasm and concerns about sustainability.

Valuation surge reflecting investor frenzy

Anthropic’s last funding round, completed in September, valued the company at $183 billion. A new valuation of $350 billion would represent a dramatic leap in a short period, reflecting both rapid advances in its technology and intense competition among investors seeking exposure to top-tier AI firms.

That surge would also place Anthropic closer to its biggest rivals. In October, OpenAI closed a financing deal valuing it at $500 billion. Earlier this week, Elon Musk’s xAI said it had raised $20 billion in a funding round that likely valued the company at more than $230 billion.

Together, these deals highlight the scale of investment, even as some analysts warn that valuations may be running ahead of revenues and real-world adoption. Critics have raised concerns that the industry could be forming a bubble, driven by fear of missing out among investors and strategic backers.

Founders, safety focus, and corporate structure

Anthropic was founded in 2021 by Dario Amodei and his sister, Daniela Amodei, both former OpenAI executives. The siblings left OpenAI following disagreements over the organization’s relationship with Microsoft and how its technologies were being funded and deployed.

They established Anthropic with a focus on building AI systems with stronger safety guardrails and more cautious deployment practices. The company was structured as a public benefit corporation, a designation intended to balance shareholder interests with broader social and public goals.

That emphasis on safety has helped Anthropic attract both commercial customers and strategic investors, particularly large technology companies seeking reliable AI partners without reputational risk.

Big tech backers

Anthropic has already raised at least $40 billion in financing, according to PitchBook. Amazon emerged as its largest investor in 2024, committing $8 billion to the company. Google has invested roughly $3 billion and controls about 14 percent of Anthropic, according to court documents obtained by The New York Times.

At the end of last year, Microsoft and Nvidia also said they would invest roughly $15 billion in the company, further tightening Anthropic’s ties to the biggest players in cloud computing and semiconductor manufacturing.

Those relationships are critical as Anthropic races to scale its technology and compete with OpenAI and other rivals for enterprise customers.

High cost of computing power

Much of the capital Anthropic is raising is being consumed by infrastructure. The company is spending tens of billions of dollars on data center hardware and long-term computing contracts to support its AI models.

Late last year, Anthropic announced plans to spend $50 billion on data centers in Texas and New York in partnership with the cloud company Fluidstack, though it did not disclose how the project would be financed. The company is also purchasing vast amounts of computing capacity from Amazon and Google.

Anthropic is set to become the primary user of a massive Amazon data center in New Carlisle, Ind., which will eventually consume 2.2 gigawatts of electricity — enough to power roughly one million homes. The scale of that facility illustrates both the ambition of Anthropic’s growth plans and the mounting energy demands associated with the AI boom.

As funding talks continue, investors and policymakers alike will be watching closely to see whether the economics of AI can ultimately justify the staggering sums now being invested in its future.

Well, well, healthcare has experienced an AI shift that might make doctors worried about job security go very pale.

The post Anthropic Eyes $10B Funding Round at $350B Valuation appeared first on eWEEK.