Artificial Intelligence

Anthropic Secures Record Funding and Strengthens Position Near OpenAI

Anthropic and OpenAI are now prominent players in the generative artificial intelligence sector. Their impact extends beyond research, influencing critical infrastructure in the global digital economy. Despite their dominance, they adopt distinct financial strategies and investor relationships.

Funding Details

Anthropic has announced a Series F funding round amounting to $13 billion (approximately €12.1 billion), raising its post-money valuation to $183 billion (approximately €170 billion). Led by ICONIQ Capital, the funding round included participation from Fidelity Management & Research Company, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and various financial entities like sovereign funds GIC and QIA, as well as asset management companies such as BlackRock, Blackstone, and T. Rowe Price.

Company Profile and Product Growth

Founded by Dario and Daniela Amodei, Anthropic focuses on security, interpretability, and alignment. Since launching its product Claude in March 2023, the company has experienced significant growth, reaching $1 billion in annualized revenue by early 2025, and $5 billion by August 2025. It serves over 300,000 enterprise clients and offers a portfolio that includes APIs, specialized developer offerings like Claude Code, and consumer subscriptions.

OpenAI’s Strategic Approach

OpenAI operates under a different model. After raising $40 billion (approximately €37.1 billion) in spring 2025, it reached a valuation of $300 billion (approximately €278 billion). Upcoming secondary transactions may elevate this to $500 billion. The company, led by Sam Altman, benefits from an exclusive partnership with Microsoft, which provides computing power, capital, and distribution via Azure.

Strategic Divergence

The two companies illustrate strategic divergence. Anthropic pursues a diversified investor base and maintains independence from a single industrial partner, while OpenAI leverages deep integration with Microsoft, focusing on an industrial and technological alliance.

• Anthropic: Founded in 2021 by Dario and Daniela Amodei. Total funding exceeds $20 billion (approximately €18.6 billion). Latest round: Series F of $13 billion (approximately €12.1 billion) in August 2025, with a post-money valuation of $183 billion (approximately €170 billion).

• OpenAI: Founded in 2015 by Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Wojciech Zaremba, and John Schulman. Total funding surpasses $50 billion (approximately €46.5 billion). Latest round: $40 billion (approximately €37.1 billion) in April 2025, with a post-money valuation of $300 billion (approximately €278 billion).