The AI Industry Is Running Out of Time

The Algorithmic Bridge · 1 month ago

Anthropic has filed confidentially for an IPO with a near-$50B annualized revenue run rate and approaching profitability, while OpenAI trails with lower revenue and no profitability in sight despite both companies burning substantial cash. Both companies are moving toward public markets while their business models remain unprofitable at scale, with recent examples showing enterprises like Microsoft, Uber, and Starbucks cutting AI spending due to unsustainable costs and reliability issues. If these companies' IPOs precede a market realization that AI promises exceed actual returns, early investors will transfer accumulated risk to pension funds and the broader economy rather than realizing gains from genuine technological success.