AI startup Anthropic is once again moving into high-stakes territory. With its valuation up from approximately $61.5 billion earlier this year, the company is exploring a massive new fundraising round that could more than double its value—potentially exceeding $150 billion. But this leap forward comes with a difficult choice: whether to accept funding from Gulf state investors, despite longstanding ethical reservations.
🚀 From $61B to $150B? What’s Changing
- In March 2025, Anthropic secured $3.5 billion at a $61.5 billion post‑money valuation, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from Google and Amazon among others.
- Under discussion now is a new raise of $3–5 billion, with the potential to value the company at over $150 billion—a dramatic step in a few months.
💰 Why the Pressure Is So Big Now
- Anthropic’s annual recurring revenue has surged from about $1 billion to over $4 billion, largely driven by enterprise subscriptions.
- Still, costs remain enormous—mainly driven by compute requirements and fierce competition for top AI talent—and profitability remains distant.
🌍 Enter Gulf State Investors—and Ethical Conflict
- The company is in talks with Middle Eastern sovereign funds, such as MGX from Abu Dhabi, to participate in the new round.
- CEO Dario Amodei previously opposed Gulf investment, warning it might enrich authoritarian regimes. However, he now signals a grudging shift—calling it a “reluctant” need to keep pace with competitors like OpenAI and xAI.
- Internal communications show deep discomfort with the decision. Amodei wrote: “No bad person should ever benefit from our success,” but acknowledged business realities make that ideal hard to uphold.
🧠 Context: The Broader AI Funding Frenzy
- Anthropic is not alone—OpenAI was valued at roughly $300 billion earlier this year and is closing in on a funding round led by SoftBank.
- Others in the space—Google DeepMind, Apple-backed xAI, Meta, Amazon—are pouring capital and talent into building competitive AI systems.
⚙️ Why It Matters
- Market Leverage: Access to Gulf capital could enable Anthropic to scale compute, hire top researchers, and accelerate feature releases in the race against OpenAI.
- Ethical Implications: Accepting such investment may give investors “soft power” over future decisions—even without equity or board seats—raising alarms about democratic governance and AI weaponization.
- Reputational Risks: Dissent is growing—some observers accuse Anthropic of abandoning principles for growth.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is Anthropic already raising funds at $150B?
Not yet. The company is in early talks to raise $3–5 billion at that valuation, but final terms are still not fixed.
Q: Why the valuation jump from $61B to potentially $150B?
Strong revenue growth, Claude’s enterprise adoption (up from $1B to $4B in ARR), and pressure from competitors all contribute to investor optimism.
Q: Why is Gulf State funding controversial?
Anthropic previously avoided such capital due to concerns about enriching authoritarian regimes. Leadership fears political leverage and dilution of ethical standards.
Q: Is Anthropic making money now?
Revenue is growing fast, but losses continue. Similar AI firms like OpenAI are still far from profitability due to massive infrastructure and talent costs.
Q: What’s next for Anthropic?
If the round succeeds, funds will go toward expanding compute, global scale, AI safety models, and product enhancements—especially on Claude’s reasoning and coding capabilities.
🧭 Final Takeaway
Anthropic’s planned pivot toward Gulf-backed capital reflects a broader upheaval in the AI industry: massive value creation paired with equally massive capital hunger. Yet this shift forces a reckoning with ethics: how much compromise is acceptable in the name of innovation?
As AI oligopolies form and global power dynamics shift, the values embedded in these technologies—fairness, transparency, sovereignty—will matter as much as their capabilities.
Sources Financial Times
