Anthropic says revenue jumped to nearly $17 billion last quarter

Anthropic told investors on Wednesday that its revenue jumped around 50 percent to $16.8 billion in the September quarter and that it was profitable on an adjusted basis during the previous six months, according to US media reports.

The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI) company is barreling towards a highly anticipated initial public offering where it is expected to seek a $2 trillion valuation, beating SpaceX's record-setting $1.8 trillion valuation when it debuted in June.

Anthropic is reportedly aiming to hold its IPO in November, after the US midterm elections.

The company held a private meeting on Wednesday with investors at its headquarters in San Francisco, according to the Financial Times and Bloomberg which reported details from the meeting.

An investor presentation included updates about the company's finances which were calculated on an adjusted basis; a method commonly used by companies that excludes certain costs.

Anthropic told investors it was free cash flow positive and had an 11 percent operating margin, both adjusted, in the third quarter.

However, the company also recorded a net loss of $42 billion last year and believes it is going after a $30 trillion market, according to previous reports.

Its annualised revenue reached $65 billion earlier this year, a figure which could reach $100 billion by the end of 2026, according to the New York Times.

That eclipses its main rival, OpenAI, whose annualised revenue is $50 billion, Axios reported last week.

While annualised revenue numbers attempt to project a company's future revenue based on sales, the two companies use different methods to calculate the figures, making direct comparisons difficult.

Anthropic develops AI models and products under its flagship product known as Claude.

OpenAI likewise makes the popular AI chatbot known as ChatGPT, and has pushed its own IPO out till 2027.