OpenAI races to lock in investors before Anthropic's IPO

Anthropic is in talks with nScale over a $45 billion cloud deal that could sharpen the benchmark OpenAI is racing against, people familiar with the matter say.

OpenAI is rushing to secure investor commitments for a private funding round before Anthropic goes public, according to people familiar with the matter.

The talks would expand Anthropic's infrastructure footprint as it heads toward a listing.

Anthropic's own valuation picture has already shifted once. On October 15, its investors dialed back valuation expectations after the company reported $16.8 billion in third-quarter revenue, a reassessment that came the same day a global selloff hit AI and semiconductor stocks.

OpenAI's push comes after two separate disclosures weighed on its standing: a reported $20 billion shortfall against previously signaled annualized revenue on October 8, and a California subpoena along with state lawsuits over safety and child-harm claims on October 14. Neither is tied to today's move, but both give prospective backers reason to press on terms. An Anthropic IPO would hand outside investors a priced, liquid benchmark that could reset expectations for OpenAI's own valuation talks, so locking in commitments now lets OpenAI set its own narrative rather than have it measured against a newly public rival's trading price.