Some strong claims, dissected
Aug 16, 2026
∙ Paid
Sources say
I am watching something fascinating unfolding in real time. Anthropic is in an SEC-monitored “quiet period” before its IPO (expected sometime in the fall), somewhat limiting its communications (though not entirely; Amodei discussed governance matters on X yesterday, a rare appearance there for him, and the company continues to report on safety issues and so on). But that hasn’t stopped leakers and generative AI bulls from trying to convince audiences that Anthropic’s finances are spectacular.
Aside from the Friday Reuters report above in which Anthropic is said to be “projecting 2028 revenue of roughly $190 billion to $200 billion”, based of course on undisclosed math, “according to two [unnamed] people familiar with the company's financials”, we also heard yesterday about how amazing their Q2 was (further details below), by way of documents that were leaked to Bloomberg News. Anthropic may be “quiet”, but its fans are not.
Moreover, in a Friday All-In podcast interview, Gavin Baker claimed that Anthropic was making money on every token. A couple weeks earlier the prominent podcaster Dwarkesh Patel projected (in a claim he partly walked back, see below) that “Anthropic likely ends the year with ~$100-150B of revenue”
Below, I dissect these claims and explain what’s been left out.