Anthropic revenue jumps 45% to $16.8 billion in Q3 as AI startup eyes IPO

Anthropic’s revenue jumped 45% in the third quarter of 2026 to $16.8 billion, up from $11.6 billion in the previous quarter, as the Claude-maker continues to scale rapidly ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO), according to Reuters.

The company shared the latest revenue figure with prospective investors at a pre-IPO meeting in San Francisco on Wednesday. Anthropic also told investors that it was profitable on an adjusted basis in the third quarter, people who attended the meeting told the news agency.

The sharp rise marks another acceleration in Anthropic’s business. Revenue stood at $4.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026 before rising to $11.6 billion in the second quarter and $16.8 billion in the third quarter.

Anthropic revenue growth accelerates ahead of IPO

Anthropic’s latest numbers come as the AI company prepares investors for a potential public listing. It is reported that the IPO is expected to come before a public listing by rival OpenAI, although Anthropic’s debut could be pushed until after the November US midterm elections.

The company is also targeting an annual revenue run rate of $110 billion by the end of 2026, according to a person who attended the investor meeting. An annual revenue run rate is a projection of a company’s annual revenue based on its current sales pace.

Anthropic’s growth has been driven by demand for its Claude family of AI models, particularly among enterprise customers and developers. The company has emerged as one of the leading generative AI developers and is competing directly with OpenAI and Google.

The latest quarterly figure is a significant jump from Anthropic’s performance last year. Its revenue increased 12-fold in 2025 to nearly $4.6 billion. However, the company also reported an operating loss of more than $8 billion that year, highlighting the enormous costs involved in developing and running advanced AI models.

Anthropic faces huge AI infrastructure costs

The rapid revenue growth comes alongside massive spending commitments. Anthropic has committed at least $518 billion over a decade for cloud services, computing and infrastructure. The company spent $7.33 billion on compute and infrastructure in 2025 alone, more than three times its spending in 2024.

Anthropic is seeking a valuation of more than $2 trillion in its planned IPO, making its financial performance particularly important for prospective investors. The company will need to demonstrate that its rapidly expanding revenue can eventually outpace the cost of developing and operating increasingly powerful AI systems.

The company’s dependence on major cloud providers is another important factor. Reuters reported that 47% of Anthropic’s 2025 sales were routed through Amazon and Google’s cloud marketplaces. Those companies are simultaneously investors, computing suppliers and distribution partners for Anthropic.