Anthropic's Rapid Growth Is Making Some OpenAI Investors Rethink Their Bets
As Anthropic's revenue skyrockets and its shares gain momentum, some OpenAI backers are quietly questioning whether the company's $852 billion valuation holds up.
OpenAI's Sky-High Valuation Draws Scrutiny as Anthropic Surges
OpenAI's staggering $852 billion valuation is coming under increasing scrutiny — not just from outside critics, but from some of the company's own investors. As OpenAI races to pivot toward enterprise clients and defend its market position, a formidable rival is quietly stealing the spotlight.
According to reporting by the Financial Times, growing confidence in Anthropic is prompting a handful of investors to reassess just how much OpenAI is truly worth.
Anthropic's Revenue Growth Is Turning Heads
The numbers behind Anthropic's ascent are difficult to ignore. The company's annualized revenue surged from $9 billion at the close of 2025 to an impressive $30 billion by March's end — a meteoric rise fueled largely by soaring demand for its AI-powered coding tools.
The contrast with OpenAI has not gone unnoticed. One investor with stakes in both companies told the Financial Times that validating OpenAI's most recent funding round required projecting an IPO valuation of $1.2 trillion or more. Against that backdrop, Anthropic's current $380 billion valuation begins to look like a compelling deal.
Secondary Markets Signal a Shift in Sentiment
Beyond the headlines, the secondary market is offering its own verdict. Demand for Anthropic shares has become nearly insatiable among private market participants, while OpenAI shares are reportedly trading at a discount — a telling sign of where investor enthusiasm is gravitating.
This kind of sentiment shift in secondary markets often foreshadows broader changes in how a company is perceived ahead of any potential public offering.
OpenAI Pushes Back — But Questions Persist
OpenAI's leadership has not taken the criticism sitting down. CFO Sarah Friar pointed to the company's $122 billion fundraising round — the largest private capital raise in history — as proof that institutional confidence in OpenAI remains strong.
However, not everyone is buying that argument. Jai Das, president of Sapphire Ventures and a neutral observer with no financial stake in either company, offered a more sobering perspective. Speaking to the Financial Times, Das likened OpenAI to "the Netscape of AI" — invoking the cautionary tale of the once-dominant web browser that was ultimately overtaken by Microsoft and absorbed into AOL.
A Pattern Sam Altman Knows Well
For OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, navigating inflated expectations is familiar territory. During his time at the helm of Y Combinator, aggressive valuation growth sometimes left portfolio companies financially exposed, even as others went on to justify — and exceed — their lofty price tags.
Whether OpenAI follows a similar arc remains to be seen. But with Anthropic gaining ground on multiple fronts, the pressure on OpenAI to deliver on its enormous valuation has never been greater.
The Bigger Picture
The rivalry between OpenAI and Anthropic is shaping up to be one of the defining competitive battles in the AI industry. For investors, the central question is no longer simply who is leading the race — but whether the current price of admission accurately reflects where each company is headed.
