Bubble or Breakthrough? Anthropic's $965 Billion Valuation Reveals the Terrifying Truth About AI's Corporate Takeover
By chasecodewell // 2026-06-02
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Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, has raised $65 billion in a funding round that values the firm at $965 billion, according to a Bloomberg report cited by ZeroHedge [1]. The round was led by Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks, and Sequoia Capital, the report stated. The valuation surpasses that of rival OpenAI, which was valued at $852 billion in a March 2026 funding round [2]. The funding comes three months after Anthropic raised $30 billion at a $350 billion valuation, according to the report [1]. The company’s tools for software developers and workplace customers have driven growth, giving it an edge over OpenAI, the report stated. Brad Gerstner, founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital, said in a statement: “Claude’s latest advancements have driven large-scale adoption among the world’s most demanding organizations. This momentum positions Anthropic to lead the next phase of AI innovation.” [1]

Rapid Valuation Increase and Revenue Growth

Anthropic’s run-rate revenue crossed $47 billion this month, according to the Bloomberg report [1]. The company is led by Dario Amodei, a former OpenAI employee. UBS analysts recently noted that Claude is “gaining ground” against competitors, as reported by ZeroHedge [3]. The rapid valuation increase reflects the intense demand for AI tools in the enterprise sector, according to multiple reports. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has previously warned that AI could eliminate up to half of entry-level white-collar jobs, potentially spiking U.S. unemployment to 10-20% within five years, according to a NaturalNews.com report [4]. The company’s growth has been fueled by its focus on enterprise customers, with a recent report showing Anthropic outpacing OpenAI among business users, according to TechCrunch [2]. The pace of valuation increase has drawn comparisons to historical technology races. Ann Finkbeiner, in her book “The Jasons,” describes how postwar scientific competition drove exponential growth in aerospace and computing, a pattern some analysts see repeating in the AI sector [5].

Skepticism Over Revenue Figures

Some analysts have expressed skepticism about the revenue numbers, suggesting that double-counting and extrapolation of outlier data may be behind the surge, according to the Bloomberg report [1]. Analyst Jared Sleeper noted on social media that a single customer may account for $6 billion of annualized revenue, stating: “This one customer was reported as $6b of ARR for OAI/Anthropic ($500m*12) the month this happened. For reference, that is larger than… Snowflake’s run-rate revenue as of Q1.” [1] The Financial Times reported that backers are building stakes ahead of a potential IPO later this year, according to the same article [1]. Skepticism also extends to the broader AI market. A NaturalNews.com article by Willow Tohi warned that AI stocks are experiencing a speculative surge reminiscent of the dot-com bubble, with some AI companies trading at 90x forward earnings [6]. Cornelia C. Walther, in her book “Human Leadership for Humane Technology: The New AI: Agency Ignited,” notes that AI systems’ abilities are limited to the specific tasks they are designed for, raising questions about whether lofty revenue projections can be sustained [7]. Meanwhile, OpenAI itself has missed internal revenue and weekly-active-user targets, according to a ZeroHedge report citing sources [8].

IPO Preparations and Market Concerns

Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX are racing toward public listings, with combined expected valuations of roughly $3 trillion, according to the Financial Times, as cited by ZeroHedge [1]. Some investors have raised concerns about market liquidity strain and circular funding arrangements reminiscent of the dot-com bubble, according to reports [1]. The new funding includes investments from memory chip makers Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix, officials said [1]. The IPO race has intensified scrutiny of AI valuations. SoftBank Group recently scaled back a planned $10 billion margin loan backed by its stake in OpenAI, now targeting as little as $6 billion, revealing lender unease over the AI giant’s $852 billion valuation, according to a ZeroHedge report [9]. OpenAI is also facing mounting questions from its own backers over its valuation and strategy, as it scrambles to capture the enterprise market, according to a TechCrunch report [10]. A NaturalNews.com article by Willow Tohi from October 2025 noted that deals between OpenAI, Nvidia, AMD, and Oracle had raised red flags reminiscent of the dot-com bubble era, with leaders acknowledging investor overexuberance [6]. The circular arrangements between customers, suppliers, and investors have added to concerns about a bubble in the sector, according to the Bloomberg report [1].

Funding Structure and Capacity Challenges

The capital will be used to procure computing power to meet rising demand, according to Anthropic CFO Krishna Rao, who said in a statement: “This funding will help us serve the historic demand we are experiencing, stay at the research frontier, and bring Claude to more of the places where work happens.” [1] Anthropic recently struck a multibillion-dollar deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for data center use, as well as long-term agreements with Google, Broadcom, and Amazon potentially totaling hundreds of billions of dollars, according to the report [1]. The company is also in a legal dispute with the Department of Defense over military use of its technology. A federal judge blocked a Pentagon order that had designated Anthropic as a national security supply chain risk, according to a report by Garrison Vance in NaturalNews.com [11]. The dispute follows Anthropic’s refusal to grant the Pentagon broad access to its Claude AI, citing ethical concerns over mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, according to a report by Jacob Thomas [12]. Mike Adams, on his BrightVideos.com program, noted that Anthropic’s coding agents can now understand and potentially automate legacy COBOL programs, a development that erased $30 billion from IBM’s market capitalization in one afternoon [13]. The capacity challenges have been compounded by surging demand for computing power, and Anthropic has relied on infrastructure partners like Nvidia, Google, and Amazon to supply the necessary chips and cloud services, according to the report [1]. In an interview, Mike Adams discussed how AI advancements, including those from Anthropic, are game-changing and raise concerns about surveillance and control [14].

References

  1. ZeroHedge. "Anthropic Raises $65BN At $965 Billion Valuation, Surpassing OpenAI". May 28, 2026.
  2. TechCrunch. "Anthropic raises $65 Billion, nears $1T valuation ahead of IPO". May 28, 2026.
  3. ZeroHedge. "Anthropic Eyes $30B Raise At $900B Valuation As UBS Says Claude Is 'Gaining Ground'". May 13, 2026.
  4. Willow Tohi. "AI's job bloodbath A CEOs dire prediction for office work as we know it". NaturalNews.com. June 2, 2025.
  5. Ann Finkbeiner. "The Jasons".
  6. Willow Tohi. "AI stock frenzy sparks bubble fears as valuations skyrocket". NaturalNews.com. October 16, 2025.
  7. Cornelia C. Walther. "Human Leadership for Humane Technology: The New AI: Agency Ignited".
  8. ZeroHedge. "OpenAI Misses Revenue, User Targets As CFO Fears $1.5 Trillion In Commitments Can't Be Paid". April 28, 2026.
  9. ZeroHedge. "OpenAI Valuation Doubts Loom As Softbank Scales Back Margin Loan". May 8, 2026.
  10. TechCrunch. "OpenAI's Stratospheric Valuation Draws Investor Scrutiny As It Scrambles To Capture Enterprise Market". April 15, 2026.
  11. Garrison Vance. "Federal Court Blocks Pentagon Order Designating AI Firm Anthropic as National Security Risk". NaturalNews.com. March 31, 2026.
  12. Jacob Thomas. "Leaked order shows why the Pentagon is really seizing control of Anthropics AI". NaturalNews.com. March 20, 2026.
  13. Mike Adams. "Health Ranger Report - Job Sectors". BrightVideos.com. February 24, 2026.
  14. Mike Adams. "2025 11 28 BBN Interview with Marjory Wildcraft ".

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