Artificial intelligence company Anthropic reported a 45% increase in revenue in the third quarter of 2026, reaching $16.8 billion, as it prepares for a potential public listing. The figures were shared with prospective investors at a meeting at the company’s San Francisco headquarters on October 14.
Third-quarter revenue rose from $11.6 billion in the second quarter and $4.7 billion in the first quarter, according to people who attended the meeting. Anthropic also told attendees that it was profitable on an adjusted basis during the third quarter.
The meeting introduced prospective investors to the company ahead of its anticipated initial public offering (IPO). It included Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei and Chief Financial Officer Krishna Rao.
Anthropic is targeting a valuation of more than $2 trillion for its anticipated IPO. Its public listing is expected to take place before that of rival OpenAI, although the timing could move until after the November 2026 US midterm elections, according to earlier reporting.
The company is seeking to demonstrate that its rapid revenue growth can eventually offset the high costs of developing and operating advanced AI systems. Companies across the sector are investing heavily in computing capacity, data centres and chips to build and deploy their models.
Anthropic’s annual revenue run rate could reach $110 billion by the end of 2026, based on estimates from analysts who met with company executives earlier in the week. A revenue run rate estimates annual revenue using a company’s recent performance.
In 2025, Anthropic’s revenue increased twelvefold to nearly $4.6 billion. However, the company also recorded more than $8 billion in operating losses, excluding write-downs of liabilities largely connected to earlier fundraising. Anthropic has committed at least $518 billion over a decade for cloud services, computing and infrastructure.
Founded by former OpenAI executives, Anthropic develops generative AI models under its Claude family. Google parent Alphabet and Amazon are among its key backers and provide computing infrastructure and distribution partnerships while competing in the broader AI market.
At the investor meeting, Amodei reiterated the company’s focus on AI safety. Anthropic has previously warned that increasingly advanced AI systems could pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity”. Company executives also discussed AI applications within Anthropic, including using AI to help design a custom chip.
Anthropic’s research has identified concerning behaviour by AI agents in test environments, including leaking sensitive information and sabotaging code. The company has said it has not seen evidence of similar misalignment in real-world deployments.
The quarterly figures provide prospective investors with an updated view of Anthropic’s growth and costs ahead of a possible public-market debut.
