Anthropic just pulled off a hat trick that'd make any Silicon Valley exec jealous. The AI lab finished May by surpassing OpenAI in market share of business spending for the first time, according to data from Ramp. Then it raised $65 billion at a $965 billion valuation — also beating OpenAI's last round. And it waltzed into June by filing confidential paperwork for an IPO, reportedly on the strength of its first-ever profitable quarter.
This is the same company that's been publicly feuding with the Trump administration over AI regulation. The White House has been pushing for looser rules, while Anthropic has been arguing for tighter guardrails. You'd think a fight with the president would hurt business. But the numbers tell a different story.
The Ramp data shows that corporate clients are increasingly choosing Anthropic over OpenAI for their AI spending. That's a huge shift. OpenAI has been the household name since ChatGPT exploded in late 2022. But businesses, it turns out, care about more than brand recognition. They want reliability, safety, and pricing that doesn't make their CFOs cry.
Anthropic's $65 billion raise at a $965 billion valuation is jaw-dropping. For context, that valuation is nearly a trillion dollars. The company is now one of the most valuable private companies in the world. And the IPO filing means it's getting ready to let regular investors buy in. The confidential filing — typical for companies testing the waters — lets Anthropic keep its financials under wraps until it's ready to go public.
The profitable quarter is the real shocker. Most AI startups are burning cash like there's no tomorrow. Anthropic apparently found a way to make the math work, at least for one quarter. If it can sustain that, it'll be a massive differentiator in a market where profitability is still a distant dream for most.
So what's behind the surge? Anthropic's focus on "constitutional AI" — a safety-first approach that trains models to follow a set of principles — has resonated with enterprise clients who are terrified of their AI going rogue. The company also locked down some major enterprise deals, including partnerships with financial services and healthcare firms that need airtight compliance.
The feud with the Trump admin might actually be helping. By positioning itself as the responsible adult in the room, Anthropic is winning trust from businesses that don't want to be caught in a regulatory crackdown. The administration's push for deregulation has spooked some corporate leaders, who fear that a laissez-faire approach could lead to disasters that trigger a backlash. Anthropic's safety-first stance looks like insurance.
What happens next? The IPO could come later this year, depending on market conditions. If Anthropic goes public at a valuation near $1 trillion, it'd be one of the biggest tech IPOs in history. The company will also have to navigate the ongoing regulatory debate. The Trump administration has proposed a light-touch framework, while Anthropic and other safety advocates are pushing for binding rules. Either way, Anthropic has proven that you can fight City Hall and still win the business.
For now, the AI wars have a new front-runner — at least in the corporate wallet.