Anthropic Attracts $2 Billion from Investors as OpenAI Loses Appeal

Anthropic attracts $2 billion from investors, overshadowing OpenAI.

Shares of AI startup Anthropic have become the most sought-after on the secondary market, while OpenAI’s stocks are losing their allure for buyers. This is reported by TechCrunch, citing Glen Anderson, president of investment bank Rainmaker Securities.

His organization has been acting as an intermediary in the private company stock market since 2010, covering around a thousand different firms.

The expert confirmed Bloomberg’s data on the frenzied demand for Anthropic. The CEO of Next Round Capital told the agency that potential buyers are ready to invest $2 billion in the startup. For comparison, current OpenAI stockholders cannot sell their assets even for $600 million.

“The most elusive stocks on our trading platform are Anthropic’s. There are simply no sellers,” Anderson stated.

Reasons for the Frenzy and OpenAI’s Discount

One factor driving the sharp increase in interest in Anthropic is the firm’s conflict with the U.S. Department of Defense.

“Their application has become more popular. People supported the company as a kind of hero challenging the government. This amplified the resonance and further distinguished the firm from OpenAI,” the expert said.

However, this does not mean that Sam Altman’s startup is in dire straits, Anderson emphasized. Institutional investors still aim to invest in both companies.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a choice between one or the other. But the enthusiasm is gone. It’s not nearly as dynamic a market as Anthropic’s,” he noted.

Anderson confirmed Bloomberg’s information that OpenAI’s shares on the secondary market are trading based on a total business valuation of $765 billion. The stocks are sold at a noticeable discount compared to the recent funding round, during which a valuation of $852 billion was mentioned.

SpaceX: The Hidden Giant Valued at $2 Trillion

Amid the competition between the two AI giants, the market often overlooks SpaceX. Anderson stated that it is one of the few companies in Rainmaker’s portfolio that has never faced a severe correction and a 60–70% drop in stock value.

Elon Musk’s firm “has practically always grown and developed.” As the analyst noted, the management adheres to strict pricing discipline and does not try to extract the maximum from each funding round.

“Many companies are tempted to maximize their stock price in each round. The problem is that such an approach leaves no room for error,” the expert said.

This cautious approach has brought enormous profits to early investors. In 2015, Google and Fidelity invested $1 billion in SpaceX at a business valuation of $12 billion. Considering the target figures for the upcoming listing, their return could exceed the initial investment by more than 100 times.

Record IPO and Market Impact

It seems that Musk’s company’s listing is imminent. SpaceX has confidentially filed for an IPO, aiming to raise between $50 billion and $75 billion in June at a valuation of $1.75 trillion. Meanwhile, media reports indicate that SpaceX soon raised its target valuation to over $2 trillion.

“Today, a whole stream of investors approached me asking if I could offer them SpaceX shares. Buyer demand is very active. But supply is drying up. The closer the IPO, the fewer incentives existing shareholders have to sell their stocks,” Anderson stated.

The large-scale listing of SpaceX could hinder similar plans by OpenAI and Anthropic this year. The expert suggested that those who follow the space company might find themselves at a disadvantage.

“Funds allocated for IPOs are limited. SpaceX will absorb a significant portion of the liquidity,” he added.

With a valuation exceeding $2 trillion, SpaceX will become more valuable than all companies in the S&P 500 except for the top five—Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon. Moreover, the listing will break the historical record of Saudi Aramco, which raised $29.4 billion in 2019 at a valuation of $1.7 trillion.

The funds raised by SpaceX are intended for the creation of data centers in space and a city on the Moon.

Back in January, Tesla revived the closed Dojo project for AI computations beyond Earth.