Artificial intelligence firm Anthropic is in advanced discussions to raise between $3bn and $5bn in fresh capital, potentially valuing the company at approximately $170bn, according to a report by Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter.
The round is being led by Iconiq Capital, which is in talks to commit roughly $1bn, with participation expected from a mix of existing and new investors, including sovereign wealth funds and large tech backers.
Lightspeed Venture Partners – which led Anthropic’s $3.5bn raise earlier this year at a $61.5bn valuation – is also participating, alongside potential commitments from Menlo Ventures and Alkeon Capital Management.
The raise comes amid significant momentum for Anthropic, which has seen its annual recurring revenue (ARR) climb from approximately $4bn earlier this month to a reported $5bn by late July. Internal projections indicate the firm could reach $9bn in ARR by year-end.
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and Singapore’s GIC are among the sovereign investors said to be in discussions to participate in the round, underscoring growing interest from state-backed capital allocators in the AI infrastructure space. Amazon.com, which has previously invested billions into Anthropic, is also believed to be evaluating participation.
The round – still being finalised – may ultimately include a second lead investor, and is understood to be targeting minimum cheque sizes of $200m.
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI executives, positioning itself as a safety-first AI lab focused on building reliable and controllable large language models.
The company is one of several high-profile players in the generative AI arms race, competing with OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI, both of which have secured substantial funding to scale compute infrastructure and talent acquisition.
OpenAI was most recently valued at $300bn (fully diluted), while xAI is reportedly seeking a $200bn valuation in ongoing discussions with investors. These developments reflect heightened appetite for strategic AI exposures among institutional allocators, particularly sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East.
In a memo to staff, CEO Dario Amodei recently acknowledged the complexities of securing funding from global sources, noting that ethical ideals often conflict with capital requirements at scale.
