Neither OpenAI nor Anthropic is profitable
OpenAI and Anthropic are both going public not because they are profitable, but because peak excitement creates the best fundraising conditions.
Where this was said
The IPO Race: OpenAI vs. Anthropic
At 6:57 · chapter starts 5:35
The two largest AI companies in the world are planning to go public as soon as this fall, but no one knows yet who will move first [1] — Spencer Jakab "It's a genuine race. Whichever of OpenAI or Anthropic goes public first sets the benchmark: a strong debut inflates enthusiasm for the othe…" 05:31 . Spencer Jakab frames it as a true competitive race, not just a scheduling quirk: the company that goes public first in a bull market captures peak enthusiasm and raises the most money at the highest valuation, gaining the largest war chest for the coming competitive battle. But the stakes cut both ways. If Company A underperforms, it poisons the well for Company B, making it far harder to raise capital at an ambitious valuation. If Company A exceeds expectations, it stokes demand and inflates confidence in what follows. The strategic choice of when to IPO is itself a competitive weapon.
Flaky Business Plans at Trillion-Dollar Valuations
The products are impressive — ChatGPT and Claude have genuinely amazed users. But the underlying economics are fragile: these companies spend far more on infrastructure than they collect in revenue, and neither is profitable. Spencer Jakab calls that arrangement 'flaky' — and he means it.
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