OpenAI's $852 billion valuation is facing skepticism from some of its own investors, according to the Financial Times, as the company works to reorient itself around enterprise customers and contend with rising competition from Anthropic.
The valuation pressure stems partly from Anthropic's accelerating growth. The company's annualized revenue surged from $9 billion at the end of 2025 to $30 billion by the end of March, driven largely by demand for its coding tools. That trajectory has reshaped investor perspectives on relative valuations: one backer of both companies told the FT that justifying OpenAI's recent fundraising round requires assuming an IPO valuation of $1.2 trillion or more, making Anthropic's $380 billion valuation appear relatively attractive by comparison.
Secondary market activity reflects similar sentiment. Demand for Anthropic shares has grown nearly insatiable, while OpenAI shares are trading at a discount, signaling investor preference for Anthropic's trajectory.
Iconiq Capital partner Roy Luo, whose firm has invested over $1 billion in Anthropic while holding a smaller stake in OpenAI, articulated the choice starkly to the FT: "There's room for both, but there is fundamentally a number one and a number two dynamic, and the number one will win disproportionately. We picked." Luo's statement underscores a broader dynamic in the AI investment space—the belief that market concentration will favor a dominant player.
OpenAI pushed back against the narrative of flagging confidence. CFO Sarah Friar told the FT that the company's $122 billion raise, which the company described as the largest private fundraising in history, demonstrated continued investor backing. The raise, while substantial, has not silenced questions about the valuation multiples required to justify OpenAI's current price relative to Anthropic's growth metrics.