OpenAI is currently sitting on a massive $852 billion valuation, but some of its own backers are starting to sweat. A new report from the Financial Times suggests that the rapid rise of Anthropic is forcing investors to take a hard look at their checkbooks. As OpenAI scrambles to shift its focus toward big business customers and fight off its biggest rival, the math is getting harder to justify. While OpenAI is trying to hit a $1.2 trillion valuation for its upcoming IPO, some people in the industry think that goal is more of a dream than a reality.
The numbers coming out of Anthropic are hard to ignore. Their annualized revenue exploded from $9 billion at the end of 2025 to a staggering $30 billion by the end of March 2026. This growth is largely thanks to a huge demand for their coding tools, which have become a favorite among developers. One investor who put money into both companies mentioned that it is getting difficult to explain why OpenAI is worth so much more. In their eyes, Anthropic’s current $380 billion valuation looks like a bargain compared to the trillion-dollar price tag OpenAI is chasing.
The secondary market, where people trade shares of private companies, is telling the same story. Right now, everyone wants a piece of Anthropic, and the demand is almost impossible to keep up with. On the other hand, shares of OpenAI are actually trading at a discount. This shows that the initial hype might be cooling off as people realize that being the first to market doesn’t always mean you stay on top. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has seen this kind of valuation bubble before during his time leading Y Combinator. Back then, some companies grew into their huge valuations while others left their investors stranded.
OpenAI’s CFO, Sarah Friar, is fighting back against the skepticism. She points to the company’s recent $122 billion funding round as proof that people still believe in their mission. That round was the largest private fundraising event in history. However, not everyone is convinced by the big numbers. Jai Das, a prominent investor, famously compared OpenAI to Netscape. For those who don’t remember, Netscape was the browser that once owned the internet before Microsoft overtook it and AOL eventually bought the remains. If OpenAI isn’t careful, they could follow that same path of being a pioneer that gets passed by.
The pressure is forcing OpenAI to move faster than ever. They are trying to lock in enterprise deals and prove that ChatGPT is more than just a cool chatbot. But as Anthropic continues to release faster and more efficient models, the competition is getting fierce. Investors are no longer just looking at how many users an app has; they are looking at who is actually making money and who has the best tech for the long haul.
This valuation war is about more than just money; it is about who will own the future of the digital world. If OpenAI can’t prove that it is worth a trillion dollars, we might see a massive shift in where the big checks go. For now, the “safe bet” on OpenAI is looking a lot riskier, and the underdog at Anthropic is looking like a heavyweight contender. The next few months will decide if OpenAI can maintain its lead or if the Netscape comparison is actually right.