Capital and technology competition in the global artificial intelligence sector is spreading to public markets. On Monday local time, AI startup Anthropic, considered the strongest competitor of OpenAI, officially announced that it had secretly submitted an IPO (initial public offering) application to regulators. This move marks a milestone in one of the most anticipated stock market waves in tech history.

Facing the competitor's early move, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appeared quite composed during an interview. He stated that the fiercest competition in the AI industry is not about who can reach Wall Street first. Going public is merely a fundraising event, and OpenAI will not overemphasize specific timelines. In Altman's view, the team's current core goal is to launch the most advanced technology and build the best company. However, insiders revealed that OpenAI is also advancing its own listing plan and is expected to officially ring the opening bell later this year.

As a unicorn founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, Anthropic's recent valuation has approached $1 trillion. Thanks to the huge popularity of its programming product Claude Code among developers, the company has experienced explosive growth in the past year. According to the usual process, after submitting a confidential IPO application, a company usually needs 6 to 9 months before it can officially list. This means that in the coming six months, the public market will see a wave of listings from super giants including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Elon Musk's SpaceX, giving ordinary investors the opportunity to directly share in the AI boom.

In response to concerns about whether the AI sector will eventually end up with a "winner-takes-all" scenario, Altman gave a negative answer. He firmly believes that artificial intelligence will become a vital infrastructure for society. From the perspective of safety and stability, the global market has every reason to require the establishment of a diversified ecosystem with multiple suppliers. This healthy situation of multiple strong players coexisting would be beneficial for both the industry and users.