OpenAI rival and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Claude maker Anthropic is reportedly planning an initial public offering (IPO) in 2026, the Financial Times reported on 2 December.

The AI startup, backed by Amazon and Alphabet’s Google, has hired law firm Wilson Sonsini to prepare for the listing, it added.

Responding to Reuters queries, a spokesperson for Anthropic said the company has not decided when or even if it will go public.

Anthropic has previously engaged Wilson Sonsini for other corporate matters. The law form did not respond to Reuters’ queries till time of writing.

Why is Anthropic going for an IPO?

The listing is likely a measure for the company to raise funds and gain leverage for bigger acquisitions through public stock, a Reuters report noted. The move comes as AI adoption gains pace, driven by higher enterprise tech spending and growing investor appetite, it added.

Anthropic could be prepared to list in 2026, according to the report. The startup has also discussed with major investment banks about a potential IPO, the newspaper said, citing sources.

The FT report said, however, that the talks are in early stages and informal, indicating the company is still far from selecting its IPO underwriters.

Anthropic is negotiating a private funding round that could give the startup a valuation exceeding $300 billion, the report added.

Dario Amodei-led Anthropic is projecting to more than double and potentially nearly triple its annualized revenue run rate to around $26 billion next year. It has more than 300,000 business and enterprise customers.

Microsoft-backed OpenAI, a major rival, is preparing for what could rank among the largest IPO ever, with a potential valuation of up to $1 trillion. The firm is laying the groundwork to go public and may file with securities regulators as early as the second half of 2026, Reuters has reported.

OpenAI’s chief financial officer, Sarah Friar, said later in November that a listing is not in the startup’s near-term plans.

Last month, Microsoft and Nvidia announced plans to invest up to $15 billion in Anthropic as the AI firm made a $30 billion commitment to use Microsoft’s cloud services.

Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI staff, Anthropic was recently valued at $183 billion.

(With inputs from Reuters)