Company Anthropic forecasts that its revenue could reach approximately $190 billion-$200 billion in 2028, and investors are already using these figures to value the company ahead of a potential initial public offering. This was reported by Reuters, citing four sources familiar with Anthropic's finances and IPO preparation.
This forecast significantly exceeds the annual revenue run rate of $47 billion disclosed by the company in May. Thus, the future valuation of Anthropic will largely depend not on current financial results, but on the company's ability to realize massive growth over the next two years.
Anthropic had previously confidentially filed with the SEC for an IPO, marking the first formal step towards going public. However, the timing and terms of the listing remain dependent on market conditions and regulatory approval.
Anthropic to be Valued Based on Future Revenue
According to the publication's sources, bankers and potential investors are using an enterprise value-to-revenue (EV/Revenue) multiple to value Anthropic, applying forecasted financial indicators.
This approach is common among high-tech companies that are growing rapidly but have not yet achieved stable profitability. However, using a two-year forward projection for an IPO valuation is less typical.
The reason is the scale and speed of Anthropic's business development, as well as the enormous costs of building AI infrastructure. The company spends significant funds on:
- GPUs and other computing power;
- training and operating AI models;
- inference;
- hiring personnel;
- infrastructure expansion.
Investors are essentially betting that as Anthropic grows, its revenue will increase faster than its expenses, and its operating margin will gradually expand.
The company's dynamics already demonstrate the scale of this growth. At the end of 2025, Anthropic's annual revenue run rate was about $9 billion, and by May 2026 it exceeded $47 billion. The company also forecasted at least $10.9 billion in revenue for Q2 2026—more than double the previous quarter—and expected its first quarterly operating profit of $559 million.
According to the company, its annual revenue run rate increased more than tenfold each year for three years until early 2026.
It is precisely this dynamic that explains why potential investors are willing to value Anthropic based on financial indicators that the company might only achieve in 2028.
Palantir, Cloudflare, and SpaceX Serve as Benchmarks
During preparations for its analyst day, investors are also comparing Anthropic to public companies with similar growth characteristics or significant AI exposure.
Among such benchmarks, sources name:
- Palantir — valued at approximately 53 times its expected 2026 annual revenue;
- Cloudflare — valued at about 41.6 times its forecasted annual revenue;
- SpaceX — also valued at about 41.6 times its forecasted 2026 revenue.
Each of these companies provides investors with a different benchmark for valuing Anthropic. Palantir is viewed as an example of a business with rapid growth and significant AI exposure. Cloudflare serves as a benchmark for a high-tech company combining software and infrastructure, while SpaceX demonstrates a valuation model largely based on the future scale of the business.
A similar approach has been used ahead of IPOs for other fast-growing companies. In particular, Cerebras Systems' investors considered revenue forecasts for 2028 before its 2026 IPO. In the case of SpaceX, forecasts extended to 2029 even before the company's record-breaking IPO in June.
Against this backdrop, Anthropic's valuation will depend on whether the developer of Claude can translate massive investments in computing infrastructure and model development into sustainable revenue growth.
"Can Anthropic get a $2 trillion valuation? Yes, it can. And I'm simply wondering if it will stay at that level over time," said David Merkel, head of investment firm Aleph Investments.
He also questioned the scale of the economic impact from AI development:
"Is AI really creating that much additional productivity? These are just questions we need to ask if we're thinking about valuing this company and investing in it."
It should be recalled that news of Anthropic's preparation for a public offering emerged in March of this year. Already in April, analysts at The Kobeissi Letter named a preliminary valuation for the company at over $1 trillion.
Later, in May, the Buidlpad platform attempted to conduct a pre-IPO offering for project Antropic, but failed to raise the planned $3 million. More details in the article:
