The artificial intelligence investment story is moving from a race to build the best models to a race to turn those models into profitable businesses. That transformation is important as the industry approaches a new phase of public-market scrutiny.
OpenAI and Anthropic have spent billions developing increasingly capable AI systems, but investors eventually need more than impressive technology. They need revenue growth, improving economics, and evidence that customers will keep paying.
That makes the latest numbers from Anthropic particularly important. The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI’s second-quarter revenue increased 18% sequentially to $6.7 billion from $5.7 billion. Under almost any other circumstances, 18% quarterly growth would be excellent. Against Anthropic, however, it suddenly looks pedestrian.
Anthropic generated $11.5 billion in second-quarter revenue, nearly 73% more than OpenAI, according to the Journal. More importantly, Anthropic also produced a small operating profit while OpenAI’s operating loss widened to $12.3 billion from $9.3 billion.
That’s a remarkable reversal for an industry in which OpenAI once appeared to have an almost unassailable lead.
Anthropic Is Selling Investors a Massive Growth Story
The company said its revenue run rate surpassed $47 billion in May after ending 2025 at roughly $9 billion. By the end of July, Reuters reported that the run rate had exceeded $65 billion.
And Anthropic isn’t slowing down its ambitions. The company is projecting roughly $190 billion to $200 billion of revenue in 2028.
That trajectory is the foundation for the company’s expected initial public offering. Anthropic confidentially filed IPO paperwork in June, and reports indicate it could pursue a public listing within the next few months at a valuation around $2 trillion.
Those are the kinds of numbers that create IPO fever. They also create a problem for investors: expectations can become more powerful than financial statements.
Enterprise Growth Has Been the Key
The IPO May Be Better Than the IPO Price
Anthropic’s growth is real. Its ability to produce an operating profit while expanding revenue at this pace is also important. But that doesn’t automatically make a $2 trillion valuation a bargain.
At that valuation, investors would be paying roughly 10 times the company’s projected 2028 revenue of $200 billion. That might prove reasonable if Anthropic can maintain extraordinary growth while expanding margins. It could also prove expensive if AI competition intensifies, model prices fall, or infrastructure costs consume more of its revenue than expected.
OpenAI faces a different problem. Its second-quarter revenue grew 18%, but its $12.3 billion operating loss shows how expensive its expansion remains. The company also has its own IPO ambitions, yet questions surrounding its ability to fund future growth and service its obligations make that offering harder to evaluate.
In short, Anthropic may now have the stronger business trajectory, but investors don’t have to buy the first price Wall Street offers.
Key Takeaway
Anthropic has earned the hype with $11.6 billion of quarterly revenue, a small operating profit, and a $65 billion annualized revenue run rate. But smart investors should separate a great company from a great IPO price. With Anthropic potentially seeking a $2 trillion valuation, waiting for the stock to trade publicly, quarterly results to replace projections, and the initial excitement to settle could offer a much better entry point.
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