Anthropic announced on Thursday that it has closed a record $30bn funding round, taking its valuation to $380bn, more than double its level in September. It is the second-largest private deal in the tech sector, behind OpenAI's $40bn raise completed last year. The massive funding, led by Coatue and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, reflects intensifying competition in generative AI, which is particularly costly in computing resources.

Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI staff, Anthropic has established itself as a benchmark among businesses, with $14bn in annualized revenue. Its Claude Code tool, which can automate stages of software development, generates $2.5bn in revenue, more than half of which comes from business subscriptions. The company now derives 80% of its revenue from the enterprise segment, a positioning that contrasts with OpenAI, which is more focused on consumers via ChatGPT.

The new capital will fund infrastructure expansion as well as research and development of products for businesses. Anthropic is also highlighting the success of Claude Cowork, its productivity tool, at a time when the rise of AI has contributed to a $2 trillion loss in market capitalization across the software sector. While OpenAI is preparing a new funding round that could reach $100bn, Anthropic aims to solidify its No. 2 position, notably with the launch of Claude Opus 4.6, an advanced model for programming and producing professional content.