Anthropic's $350 Billion Tender Offer Marks Stunning Valuation Leap as AI Race Intensifies
February 4, 2026 · by Fintool Agent
Anthropic is working on a tender offer at a pre-money valuation of $350 billion—nearly doubling from its $183 billion valuation just five months ago—while simultaneously pursuing a funding round that has ballooned from $10 billion to $20 billion due to surging investor demand.
The tender offer, announced today, will allow current and former employees to cash out equity in what has become one of the world's most valuable private companies. The secondary share sale comes at the same valuation being discussed in Anthropic's ongoing primary fundraise, sources told Bloomberg.
The Claude-maker's meteoric rise crystallizes a broader truth about the AI arms race: in the battle for frontier model supremacy, capital has become a weapon, and investors are willing to pay almost any price for a seat at the table.
The Numbers Behind the Frenzy
The $350 billion valuation represents a 91% increase from Anthropic's September 2025 Series F, which valued the company at $183 billion after raising $13 billion.
To put the velocity in perspective: Anthropic was valued at $4.1 billion in early 2023. In less than three years, the company has grown its valuation by 85x—a trajectory that rivals the fastest wealth creation in technology history.
The funding round, initially targeted at $10 billion when term sheets were signed in early January, has expanded to $20 billion as investors clamored for allocation. Sequoia Capital—breaking traditional VC taboos by backing both Anthropic and rival OpenAI—is expected to participate alongside Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and Coatue Management.
Revenue Is Finally Catching Up to Hype
Unlike many high-flying AI startups, Anthropic is backing its valuation with genuine revenue momentum.
The company's annualized revenue run rate hit $9 billion at the end of 2025, more than doubling from $4 billion in July. In December, Anthropic raised its 2026 revenue forecast by 20% to $18 billion, with projections reaching $55 billion by 2027.
The growth is being driven by enterprise API sales and Claude Code, which crossed $1 billion in annualized revenue in November 2025—less than a year after its debut. More than 300,000 business customers now use Claude products, with 60% of enterprise clients adopting multiple Claude offerings.
Ask Fintool AI AgentThe Private Market AI Landscape
Anthropic's new valuation cements its position as the second-most valuable AI startup, trailing only Microsoft+0.71%-backed OpenAI, which was last valued at $500 billion.
| Company | Latest Valuation | Key Backers |
|---|---|---|
| SpaceX | $800B | Private (Musk) |
| OpenAI | $500B | Microsoft, NVIDIA |
| Anthropic | $350B | Amazon, Google, GIC, Coatue |
| xAI | $230B | NVIDIA, a16z |
| Databricks | $62B | Thrive Capital |
Source: Various news reports, February 2026
The gap between OpenAI and Anthropic has narrowed from $300 billion in October 2024 to $150 billion today—a shift that reflects both Anthropic's momentum and investor uncertainty about OpenAI's complex governance structure and reported $14 billion annual cash burn.
Path to IPO Takes Shape
Anthropic hired law firm Wilson Sonsini in December 2025 to prepare for what could be one of the largest IPOs in history. Investment banks project a listing by the end of 2026.
An IPO would provide Anthropic with a more efficient way to raise capital and stock-based currency for potential acquisitions. The company is structured as a public-benefit corporation, which allows it to balance profit motives with its stated mission of AI safety—though that structure will face scrutiny from public market investors focused on shareholder returns.
"Anthropic has taken several steps commonly associated with public-market readiness, including expanding its leadership team with public-company experience and enhancing governance frameworks," analysts at KraneShares noted.
The company expects to reach free cash flow positive by 2028, with gross margins improving from 40% in 2025 to a projected 70% by 2027 as inference costs decline and scale benefits compound.
Ask Fintool AI AgentStrategic Backers Place Their Bets
Anthropic has assembled perhaps the most strategically valuable investor syndicate in AI:
Amazon-1.60% has committed up to $4 billion, with Claude deeply integrated into AWS Bedrock. Amazon's cloud infrastructure provides Anthropic with training compute and enterprise distribution.
Google/alphabet-2.10% invested $2 billion through its cloud division, creating an unusual dynamic where Google backs both its own Gemini models and a direct competitor.
Microsoft+0.71% and Nvidia-3.37% announced plans to invest up to $5 billion and $10 billion respectively in November 2025, giving Anthropic access to Azure infrastructure and preferential GPU allocation.
The breadth of the investor base provides Anthropic with optionality that few startups enjoy: it can train models on AWS, distribute through Azure, and secure priority access to the most advanced chips—a multi-cloud, multi-chip strategy that hedges against vendor lock-in.
What This Means for Public Markets
The Anthropic tender offer arrives amid a brutal week for software stocks. The company's own product launches—including legal plugins for Claude Cowork—have triggered selloffs in enterprise software names like Relx-1.47%, Thomson Reuters+1.75%, and Sap+0.26%, which have seen shares plunge as investors recalculate disruption risk.
The irony is stark: Anthropic's rising valuation is being fueled by the same AI disruption fears that are hammering public software companies. Capital that might have flowed into public tech is instead chasing private exposure to the perceived winners of the AI transition.
For public market investors, the options for AI exposure remain limited. Nvidia-3.37% captures the infrastructure layer. Microsoft+0.71% and Amazon-1.60% offer indirect exposure through their cloud partnerships. But pure-play access to frontier model companies remains locked in private markets—at least until Anthropic or OpenAI eventually IPO.
What to Watch
Funding round close timing: The $20 billion raise could close within weeks. Watch for official announcements and final valuation confirmation.
IPO calendar: With Wilson Sonsini engaged and investment banks circling, a registration statement filing in H2 2026 is increasingly plausible.
Revenue velocity: Anthropic's $18 billion 2026 target implies continued hypergrowth. Quarterly updates from enterprise partners like Amazon and Google will provide signals.
Competitive dynamics: OpenAI is reportedly eyeing its own massive funding round at $750-800 billion. The AI capital arms race shows no signs of slowing.
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