IPO Race Among AI Giants: Who Will Win, OpenAI or Anthropic?

Anthropic Moves Ahead of OpenAI in IPO Process

IPO Market Is Booming, But Investment Capital Has Its Limits

First Mover Advantage Even If Share Price Falls

A Crucial Test for AI Industry Profitability

As both OpenAI and Anthropic are simultaneously preparing for their initial public offerings (IPOs), attention is focused on which company will debut on the stock market first. Wall Street analysts in the United States have pointed out that the order of listing could have a significant impact on the amount of capital each company is able to secure.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on June 1 (local time), Anthropic has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its IPO. The WSJ reported that this submission has increased the likelihood of Anthropic going public in the fall of this year.

Anthropic has emerged as a leading player in the AI industry, achieving remarkable growth. In May, it successfully secured a new investment totaling $65 billion from major private equity funds, including Sequoia Capital. Anthropic's run-rate revenue has surged from $9 billion at the end of 2025 to $47 billion as of now.

The driving force behind this growth is its coding-focused AI service, Claude Code. The service has gained explosive popularity among developers and has quickly risen as a powerful rival to OpenAI. Anthropic has continued its momentum by launching the high-performance model Claude Opus 4.5 and Claude Cowork, targeting general office workers, thereby rapidly gaining traction in the enterprise customer market.

OpenAI is also reportedly preparing for its own IPO. The company is differentiating itself from Anthropic by expanding into new areas such as the Sora video generation model and robotics.

Favorable IPO Market, but Capital Is Limited... First to List Has the Advantage

The current U.S. IPO market is booming, as seen by AI chipmaker Cerebras soaring 68% on its first day of trading. The WSJ predicts that the competition between OpenAI and Anthropic will further heat up the IPO market.

There are clear reasons why these leading AI companies are rushing to go public. When several large IPOs occur in quick succession, institutional investors inevitably face competition in allocating their capital. The market sees the order of listing as a critical variable that could significantly influence each company's clout within the AI industry.

Investors may reallocate funds from other stocks to invest in OpenAI or Anthropic. The WSJ pointed out that the company that lists first is likely to capture more capital.

According to academic research, IPOs within the same industry often occur in clusters, and there are numerous cases of lackluster performance by companies that go public later. The 2019 examples of ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber are representative: after Lyft's stock underperformed following its IPO, Uber, which listed afterward, also faced a cool reception from the market, even after lowering its valuation.

The results of these IPOs could play a critical role not only in shaping the future of both companies but also in determining the next phase for the AI industry. If the listings are successful, it may strengthen market confidence in the growth and profitability of the AI sector; however, if they fall short of expectations, it could serve as a warning about the industry's prospects, according to the WSJ.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.