Anthropic Targets 2026 IPO at $300B+ Valuation

According to reports, AI startup Anthropic has hired renowned Silicon Valley law firm Wilson Sonsini to begin preparing what could become one of the largest IPOs in history, with a potential listing as early as 2026.

People familiar with the matter say the company behind the Claude chatbot recently selected the firm and has also entered private fundraising talks that could push its valuation beyond $300 billion. Sources add that CEO Dario Amodei and his team have held early, informal discussions with major investment banks about a future IPO, although the company has not yet moved forward with choosing underwriters.

While no timeline is confirmed, these steps suggest Anthropic is accelerating its path toward going public. Wilson Sonsini has advised Anthropic since 2022, including on commercial matters tied to Amazon's multibillion-dollar investment, and is known for working on high-profile IPOs such as Google, LinkedIn, and Lyft.

Investors are said to be enthusiastic, seeing an IPO as a chance for Anthropic to reach the public markets ahead of its larger rival OpenAI. One source claims the company could be ready as early as 2026, though another cautioned that such a fast schedule may be optimistic.

OpenAI is also reportedly making early preparations for an eventual listing, but insiders stress that it is too soon to predict timing. Both companies are targeting valuations rarely seen in U.S. tech offerings. OpenAI was valued at $500 billion in October, while Anthropic recently secured $15 billion in funding commitments from Microsoft and NVIDIA, supporting a projected valuation of $300–350 billion.