OpenAI’s Funding Woes Spark Investor Shift to Anthropic Ahead of Dual IPOs

OpenAI’s cash burn has accelerated, forcing the firm to tap a $1 billion bridge loan from Microsoft to keep operations afloat, according to the Wall Street Journal’s “Inside Look at OpenAI and Anthropic’s Finances Ahead of Their IPOs.” The loan, secured in March, comes after the company missed its internal fundraising target for the fiscal year, a shortfall that analysts at the Los Angeles Times note has “shocked” board members and limited its ability to fund new model training cycles.

Anthropic, by contrast, closed a $2 billion private placement in February, drawing participation from venture firms and sovereign wealth funds, the WSJ report says. The capital injection gave Anthropic a runway through its planned IPO in September, and its cash‑flow metrics now show a 45 % year‑over‑year increase in enterprise contracts, per the Los Angeles Times analysis. Investors are gravitating toward Anthropic’s “more predictable revenue profile,” the LA Times adds, as OpenAI’s subscription growth has plateaued at roughly 1.8 million paying users.

Both companies are slated for dual listings on the New York Stock Exchange later this year, but the timing reflects divergent strategies. OpenAI plans a June IPO to capitalize on its brand, yet its filing indicates a projected revenue of $4.2 billion for the next twelve months—a figure that falls short of earlier guidance, the WSJ notes. Anthropic’s prospectus, filed in early May, projects $3.7 billion in revenue, bolstered by a 30 % lift in API usage, according to the LA Times.

The funding gap has also reshaped venture capital allocations. Sequoia Capital, which led OpenAI’s last round, redirected $300 million of its commitment to Anthropic’s round, the WSJ reports. Meanwhile, SoftBank’s Vision Fund, a longtime backer of OpenAI, is negotiating a strategic stake in Anthropic, the Los Angeles Times says, citing “greater upside potential” given the latter’s lower burn rate.

Market watchers see the shift as a bellwether for AI financing. Bloomberg data, cited by the WSJ, shows that AI‑related IPO pipelines have attracted $15 billion in pre‑IPO funding this quarter, with Anthropic accounting for 18 % of that total. As OpenAI scrambles to secure additional private capital before its June filing, analysts warn that “valuation pressure could force a discount at the IPO,” the LA Times concludes.