With IPOs looming for two AI heavyweights, investors are reacting very differently to OpenAI and Amazon-backed Anthropic. Amazon’s latest move has sharpened that contrast.
According to the IT industry on April 21, Amazon agreed to a conditional commitment to invest up to $25 billion more in Anthropic. That is more than triple its existing $8 billion investment, though the new amount is not a finalized disbursement.
Global capital has already been crowding into Anthropic. The company held a $30 billion funding round in February that drew subscriptions more than six times its initial target, according to the industry, leaving demand outstripping supply. Some venture capital firms have since approached the company with interest based on an $80 billion valuation.
Driving the rush is competition to get in ahead of an initial public offering. Anthropic is widely discussed as a likely U.S. listing candidate in the fourth quarter of this year. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have been mentioned as potential underwriters, and former Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell has joined the board. The company is said to be seeking at least $60 billion; if completed, it would be the second-largest IPO on record after SpaceX.
OpenAI is also aiming for a fourth-quarter listing, but its internal situation appears less settled. The industry says the CEO and CFO disagree over timing, and some observers believe the IPO could slip to 2027.
Market sentiment has diverged sharply, with valuation at the center. Industry estimates say OpenAI would need a post-IPO valuation of at least $1.2 trillion to justify investment. Anthropic’s current valuation is $380 billion, meaning OpenAI’s implied threshold is more than three times higher.
The over-the-counter market has reflected that gap more directly. Bloomberg reported that about six large institutions, including hedge funds and venture capital firms, approached the private market on March 1 seeking to sell $600 million worth of OpenAI shares. Some of that stock was said to be difficult to sell. By contrast, demand for Anthropic shares has been described as close to unlimited.
Amazon’s strategy adds another layer. Amazon has been Anthropic’s largest shareholder since it began investing in 2023, and in February it also struck a deal with OpenAI that included a $50 billion investment and a $10 billion cloud contract with AWS. The additional Anthropic commitment is being read not as a bet on a single model, but as an extension of a cloud-dominance strategy aimed at capturing AWS infrastructure demand regardless of who wins. Anthropic, under the latest agreement, pledged to spend more than $100 billion on AWS over the next 10 years.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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