A defining moment: twin IPOs and record valuations
OpenAI and Anthropic filing for IPOs within a week refers to the near-simultaneous move by the two most valuable AI startups to enter public markets, signalling a new phase in which artificial intelligence companies are treated as mature, large-scale businesses rather than experimental research projects. Anthropic submitted a confidential IPO filing on June 1, followed by OpenAI on June 8, creating a watershed moment for AI market consolidation and investor expectations. Their combined valuations exceed USD 1.8 trillion (approx. RM8.28 trillion), with OpenAI’s USD 852 billion (approx. RM3.92 trillion) and Anthropic’s USD 965 billion (approx. RM4.44 trillion) private valuations setting a new bar for AI IPO valuation metrics. Together they account for an estimated 80% of total AI funding, concentrating power and attention in a small number of firms and reshaping how the next stage of the AI boom will be financed and governed.
Inside the OpenAI and Anthropic business machines
The IPO filings come at a time when both companies already look like public-scale businesses. OpenAI generates about USD 2 billion (approx. RM9.20 billion) in monthly revenue, or USD 24 billion (approx. RM110.4 billion) on an annualized basis, with more than 900 million weekly active users, over 50 million consumer subscribers, and more than 1 million business customers using ChatGPT, GPT-5 and enterprise APIs. According to Stark Insider, “OpenAI closed a record USD 122 billion (approx. RM560.8 billion) round in March at an USD 852 billion (approx. RM3.92 trillion) valuation.” Anthropic, founded in 2021, has scaled nearly as fast: its Claude, Claude Code and Claude Cowork products now serve over 300,000 business customers, supporting a projected USD 10.9 billion (approx. RM50.14 billion) in Q2 revenue and a USD 47 billion (approx. RM216.2 billion) run rate after its latest USD 65 billion (approx. RM298.9 billion) raise.
AI startup funding trends and a rapidly consolidating market
The scale of these OpenAI IPO valuation and Anthropic goes public moves highlights a sharp turn in AI startup funding trends. In a few years, AI financing has concentrated around a narrow set of model developers, leaving most of the industry to build on top of their platforms. With OpenAI and Anthropic commanding roughly 80% of total AI funding, smaller startups face a more uneven field where access to capital, compute, and distribution flows through a handful of gatekeepers. At the same time, big technology platforms have accelerated AI market consolidation by baking large language models into search, productivity, cloud, and social products, while open-weight models such as Llama pressure pricing for proprietary APIs. The result is a barbell market: richly funded model incumbents at one end and a crowded ecosystem of application-layer companies competing for niche segments and specialized enterprise workflows at the other.
Wall Street pressure: talent, customers, and competitive dynamics
Listing on public exchanges is likely to reshape how AI startups compete for talent, funding, and enterprise adoption. As public companies, OpenAI and Anthropic will gain liquid stock they can use in acquisitions and hiring, making their offers more attractive to senior engineers, researchers, and sales leaders who might otherwise join earlier-stage AI startups. Their scale, distribution and cash reserves also make them default partners for large enterprises, which often prefer vendors with audited financials, long-term support, and clear governance structures. This may push many AI startups either into tighter partnership models with the big two or into specialized niches where they can avoid direct competition. For investors, public-market pricing will set clearer benchmarks for AI valuations, raising scrutiny on smaller companies that still rely on narrative-driven fundraises rather than evidence of sustainable revenue and retention.
From safety-first missions to quarterly earnings scrutiny
Both companies have presented themselves as safety-focused from the start, but the shift to public markets changes the incentives around AI safety and governance. OpenAI was initially founded as a nonprofit with a mission to ensure artificial general intelligence benefits everyone, while Anthropic built its structure around AI safety research and long-term benefit. Quarterly reporting, revenue targets, and shareholder expectations may increase pressure to ship new models faster and push enterprise features aggressively. That tension will invite closer regulatory and public scrutiny, especially as their combined influence grows. SpaceX’s recent public S-1 for its combined SpaceX-xAI entity underlines how capital markets are now examining AI technologies alongside other critical infrastructure. As AI moves into the core of economic activity, Wall Street’s spotlight will make safety claims, risk disclosures, and real governance practices central to how investors judge the long-term value of these companies.
