Anthropic is briefing investors ahead of a planned stock market debut before year-end, citing a 45% revenue surge to $16.8bn in the third quarter, the BBC understands.
The San Francisco AI company revealed the figures during investor meetings on Wednesday at its headquarters. Anthropic's quarterly revenue has accelerated through 2024, rising from $4.7bn in Q1 to $11.6bn in Q2 to $16.8bn in Q3. The company also reported turning a profit for the second consecutive quarter, according to the BBC's sources.
The announcement comes as market sentiment on AI infrastructure spending has turned sharply negative. Shares in chipmakers including Nvidia, AMD and Intel fell on Wednesday following remarks by Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan, who said many investors "have no clue" about AI spending and have set "extreme expectations only to find out that it's almost like they are in a casino." The pessimism rippled globally. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell over 5%, while South Korea's Kospi and Kosdaq indexes were temporarily halted after dropping more than 8%. Samsung shares fell 9.4% and SK Hynix dropped 10.8%.
An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment on the revenue figures.
Anthropic's profitability milestone and revenue trajectory offer market-watchers a gauge of whether the AI sector can justify hundreds of billions in infrastructure spending. Rival OpenAI, which is also preparing for a public listing expected to value it above $1tn, has taken a different tack. OpenAI chief Sam Altman said in September the company will not go public this year as it addresses safety concerns about AI models.
Anthropic has similarly emphasized AI safety risks. Chief executive Dario Amodei has called for the pace of AI development to slow. The company expanded globally on Wednesday, opening a new office in Singapore.