Anthropic’s IPO: How it compares with OpenAI

Key Takeaways

What is the IPO timing for Anthropic and OpenAI?

In June, both Anthropic and OpenAI confidentially filed their draft registration statements—a first step toward a public offering—with the Securities and Exchange Commission, kicking off speculation of a coming IPO race. The timing of each company’s plans is now coming into focus.

• The Wall Street Journal reported that Anthropic could make its filing public and list as early as November, potentially after sharing preliminary third-quarter results.^[1]
• In September, Chief Executive Sam Altman said OpenAI would not go public in 2026, amid growing concerns about the safety of AI.^[2]

How do Anthropic and OpenAI compare?

Anthropic and OpenAI are two of the most prominent developers of frontier AI models, considered the most advanced versions of these technologies, and each compete at the forefront of a rapidly evolving AI market. Anthropic is reportedly profitable based on adjusted operating income^[3], while OpenAI continues to generate operating losses.^[4]

Both companies are shaping the AI market, but their revenue mix, products, and approach to safety and growth may offer distinct investment considerations. For example, Anthropic’s revenue breakdown indicates a higher percentage comes from enterprise customers, while OpenAI’s revenue breakdown indicates a lower percentage comes from enterprise customers. Let’s look at the two companies side by side:

How do Anthropic and OpenAI compare?

Anthropic and OpenAI Annualized Revenue Run Rate (CHART A)

Why does Anthropic's enterprise mix matter?

Enterprise contracts may be associated with a higher degree of recurring revenue and stickier customer relationships. For instance, once a model is integrated into a company’s data and workflows, it may have high switching costs driven by the need to carry out retraining, testing and security reviews for a replacement. While consumer subscriptions may also recur and can encourage business adoption, individuals are generally able to switch between AI providers more easily than large companies.

Reported Percent of Revenue from Enterprise Customers (CHART B)

Why has AI safety become a valuation issue?

Investors are also paying close attention to both the potential benefits and emerging risks that are playing out as the influence of AI tools spreads. Their safety and security are widely debated in technology and policy circles, and within the firms themselves. In fact, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei previously said he left OpenAI in 2020 to launch his firm in part due to diverging opinions over addressing safety issues.^[6]

Understanding the latest discussion and the stakes of AI safety will be essential for investors as well. Recently, Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, mused that staying private may benefit his firm given the current demands of developing safe AI. Meanwhile, Amodei has also called for a coordinated slowdown in the development of the most capable models. Leaders of other prominent AI companies generally voiced support for a more measured pace of development as well.^[7]

It is important for potential investors to consider that safety incidents could adversely affect company performance, particularly by increasing regulatory scrutiny and compliance costs, delaying product releases, and weakening customer confidence.

How and when can investors begin to trade Anthropic and OpenAI?

Investors considering the Anthropic IPO should thoroughly evaluate the potential benefits, drawbacks, and overall risks before investing. But how—and when—can investors gain exposure to Anthropic?

• Prior to IPO, investors can indirectly gain Anthropic exposure via public companies that hold Anthropic stakes.
• Once the IPO is scheduled, investors may seek IPO allocations through brokers and can trade Anthropic shares on the secondary market after listing.
• After trading begins, additional exposure may come in several forms, including options, leveraged and inverse single-stock ETFs, and other funds that incorporate Anthropic into their investment strategies.
• ProShares is the world’s largest provider of leveraged and inverse ETFs, including single stock, broad market, commodity, fixed income and crypto ETFs, with a long history of helping investors navigate evolving markets.

Summing things up

Ahead of Anthropic’s IPO, understanding and evaluating its differences versus OpenAI can help investors consider the broader AI growth story beyond these two IPOs.

Does one company’s business model have potentially greater appeal than the other? For instance, the enterprise versus non-enterprise revenue composition may be an important consideration for investors given possible implications for future visibility into these companies’ performance.

Other key considerations for investors may include whether Anthropic can translate its strengths into recurring revenue, durable customer relationships, and sustainable economics—and whether its eventual offering price will reflect an attractive investment opportunity.

[1] Source: Wall Street Journal, as of 9/18/26

[2] Source: Fortune, as of 9/12/26

[3] Source: Bloomberg, as of 8/13/26

[4] Source: Wall Street Journal, as of 8/18/26

[5] Source: AP: Anthropic IPO filing, 6/1/26; Forbes: $2 trillion valuation, as of 8/14/26

[6] Source: Fortune, as of 9/26/23

[7] Source: The Guardian, as of 9/13/26