Andrew here. Anthropic is now more valuable than OpenAI, something Silicon Valley wouldn\u2019t have expected a year ago. We go behind the numbers \u2014 and outline the risks the new leader in A.I. faces.<\/p>\n
Also: Lauren Hirsch has a scoop on deal talks between iHeartMedia and SiriusXM, which were put on pause. And Dell\u2019s stock is flying, raising new questions about President Trump\u2019s investments in the computer giant.<\/p>\n
The numbers behind Anthropic\u2019s rise<\/p>\n
A year ago, the biggest and buzziest artificial intelligence start-up around was undoubtedly OpenAI. That\u2019s no longer the case.<\/p>\n
Anthropic has taken that crown with its $65 billion fund-raising round<\/a>. How the company went from also-ran to 900-pound gorilla is a reflection of the current state of the A.I. race, and it raises questions about what comes next.<\/p>\n Where things stand: Anthropic is valued at $900 billion, while OpenAI was last valued at $730 billion, not including the $122 billion it had just raised.<\/p>\n Behind Anthropic\u2019s ascent: The company\u2019s Claude models were consistently highly regarded. But by November, Anthropic\u2019s Claude Code programming tool had become exponentially better at automating software development, driving a surge in adoption.<\/p>\n Its models have continued to improve rapidly \u2014 and its Mythos model has proved so adept at uncovering cybersecurity vulnerabilities that it has spooked governments and companies around the world.<\/p>\n Here are three data points that help explain Anthropic\u2019s leapfrogging OpenAI in valuation:<\/p>\n Anthropic\u2019s revenue run rate \u2014 an extrapolation of projected annual revenue, based on a month\u2019s financial performance \u2014 has jumped from $4 billion<\/a> last July to $9 billion<\/a> at the end of last year to $30 billion<\/a> last month to $47 billion now. By contrast, OpenAI implied in March that its revenue run rate was about $24 billion<\/a>; and The Information reported this week, citing unnamed sources, that the figure had risen just north of $30 billion<\/a>. (Of note: OpenAI has disputed Anthropic\u2019s revenue calculations<\/a> in the past.)<\/p>\n Anthropic\u2019s market share on OpenRouter, a platform<\/a> that allows customers to dynamically switch between A.I. models, has outpaced OpenAI\u2019s for many of the past 18 months. (Note: Tokens are the basic units of A.I. use.)<\/p>\n Anthropic has just outpaced OpenAI in business adoption, too, per Ramp<\/a>, a provider of business billing and expense services:<\/p>\n But Anthropic\u2019s lead could easily evaporate:<\/p>\n The stakes are huge. Anthropic and OpenAI are racing toward potentially trillion-dollar I.P.O.s<\/a> this year, giving them the ability to raise billions from public-market investors after seemingly maxing out the private markets.<\/p>\n Both companies are worried that there\u2019s a finite amount of investor money for those offerings \u2014 and each wants to be the one that people bet on.<\/p>\n HERE\u2019S WHAT\u2019S HAPPENING <\/p>\n A Blue Origin rocket explodes on its launchpad. A New Glenn rocket from Jeff Bezos\u2019 space company, which had been set to carry satellites for Amazon\u2019s internet service, exploded during a test of its engines<\/a> on the launchpad. Repairs of the damage caused by the explosion of the rocket, named after the astronaut John Glenn, will probably take months and affect NASA\u2019s moon plans.<\/p>\n Oil traders cheer apparent progress on a peace deal. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, dropped to around $91 a barrel, on pace for its biggest monthly decline<\/a> since 2020, as U.S. officials said they were moving closer to an agreement with Iran<\/a>. Details for the reported framework<\/a>, including the future of the Strait of Hormuz, are still being hammered out.<\/p>\n Mayor Zohran Mamdani announces New York City\u2019s version of DOGE. City Hall will form a Commission of Government Efficiency, or COGE, to find ways to use public funds more effectively<\/a>, Mamdani wrote on social media. The project was endorsed by Jeff Bezos<\/a>, who suggested that some of the cost savings could be used to eliminate taxes on the bottom half of the city\u2019s earners.<\/p>\n Scoop: SiriusXM and iHeartMedia put deal talks on ice<\/p>\n Early-stage talks over a potential sale of iHeartMedia to SiriusXM, which would create an audio giant, have stalled after the two sides were unable to come to terms, two people with knowledge of the discussions told Lauren Hirsch.<\/p>\n The sources, who were not authorized to speak about the negotiations, said that the talks could always be revived. But a big question now is what each company\u2019s stand-alone strategy looks like as digital giants like Spotify continue to disrupt the audio industry.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a long history between the two companies. Liberty SiriusXM Group, once an affiliate of John Malone\u2019s media empire, used to hold significant stakes in both companies. Liberty SiriusXM eventually sold its stake in iHeartMedia (primarily a broadcast radio company) and split off its ownership of SiriusXM (primarily a satellite radio company) into a separate entity.<\/p>\n Word of a potential deal, which was meant to help offset the deterioration of traditional radio businesses,<\/a> first emerged last month.<\/a><\/p>\n Both companies are focused on podcasts as a point of growth:<\/p>\n IHeartMedia\u2019s podcast business, which includes \u201cLas Culturistas\u201d and \u201cStuff You Should Know,\u201d collected $147 million in revenue in the first quarter, up 27 percent year on year. It has also pushed further into video podcasts, including through a partnership with Netflix.<\/a> Its overall revenue came in at $884 million for the quarter, a 9.6 percent jump.<\/p>\n Sirius has signed deals for programs including \u201cCall Her Daddy,\u201d Alex Cooper\u2019s hit show, and \u201cSmartLess.\u201d It has also focused on exclusive content, including by renewing Howard Stern\u2019s contract<\/a> for another three years.<\/p>\n Dell\u2019s surge puts scrutiny on Trump<\/p>\n The computer company Dell Technologies has been on some run \u2014 and that\u2019s especially good news for its founder, Michael Dell, and one of his biggest supporters, President Trump.<\/p>\n That raises questions about Trump\u2019s relationship with the company, which just won a big government contract<\/a>, even as the White House argues that his personal purchases of Dell stock are on the up and up.<\/p>\n The latest: Dell just reported blowout earnings. Its shares are up a staggering 40 percent in premarket trading this morning as investors cheer its artificial-intelligence-fueled growth forecast.<\/p>\n Dell told analysts on Thursday that it would sell $60 billion worth of computer servers<\/a> this year to hyperscalers and other companies that are investing heavily in the A.I. boom.<\/p>\n Dell is one of the biggest gainers on the S&P 500 this year. The surge has pushed Michael Dell\u2019s net worth near $200 billion<\/a>, according to Bloomberg.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not what\u2019s raising eyebrows.<\/p>\n Trump has profited, too. Recent filings show that the president bought between $1 million and $5 million in Dell stock in February, and smaller amounts since.<\/p>\n That\u2019s made Dell\u2019s stock market performance another proxy for how much Trump has personally gained from his many business deals while in office. It\u2019s also alarmed watchdogs who see the mingling of politics and business \u2014 including Thursday\u2019s announcement<\/a> that the government will pay Dell $9.7 billion to equip the Defense Department, U.S. Coast Guard and the intelligence community with Microsoft software and services.<\/p>\n The Pentagon contract put the potential conflict-of-interest problem back in the spotlight. \u201cIt looks terrible is the short answer,\u201d Greg Williams, director of the Center for Defense Information, part of the Project on Government Oversight, told CNBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Trump family has argued that the president has no say in his stock trades, and that they are executed by brokerage firms.<\/p>\n Trump and Dell\u2019s fortunes have become intertwined lately. Michael and Susan Dell are at the center of Trump accounts, having pledged $6.25 billion<\/a> to help capitalize the new investment accounts that are a key feature of Trump\u2019s giant 2025 spending law. Dell courted Trump early<\/a> in the president\u2019s second term, and Trump has become a big fan.<\/p>\n Trump hasn\u2019t just bought Dell stock. \u201cGo out and buy a Dell computer,\u201d he told his followers at an event in Georgia in February.<\/p>\n Photo of the day: Trump money<\/p>\n Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on Thursday that his department was preparing a mock-up of a $250 bill<\/a> featuring President Trump\u2019s portrait. Issuing one would require congressional approval, as a federal law from 1866 stipulates that only a \u201cdeceased individual\u201d may appear on U.S. currency.<\/p>\n Another potential issue: Law enforcement and economists worry that large-denomination bills are favored by organized crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n Talking A.I. with the C.E.O. of LabCorp <\/p>\n Every week, we\u2019re asking a leader how he or she uses artificial intelligence. This week, Adam H. Schechter, who leads the medical testing and health care company LabCorp, told Sarah Kessler that he had built an A.I. agent to scope out World Cup games. The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.<\/p>\n How do you personally use A.I.?<\/p>\n There are two places where I could see World Cup games, and I want to know where the better games are, based on who wins the first round. How do I know when the tickets are hitting a floor price? I have an A.I. agent that is doing all the work for me.<\/p>\n How has A.I. changed your business?<\/p>\n We just launched an app where you can look at your test results in a very easy-to-understand format. You can ask any question through an A.I. chat.<\/p>\n We also have a tool to help with lab-test search. If you\u2019re a physician with a patient who has a disease that\u2019s a bit more rare, trying to figure out which of 6,500 tests would be most appropriate can be difficult. Now you can just have a natural conversation with it.<\/p>\n What opportunities do you see in the longer term?<\/p>\n Historically, you\u2019ve had pathologists in every lab, and they\u2019ll have to prepare and look at the slides. If the stain that they use on the slide isn\u2019t correct, they\u2019ve got to get another piece of tissue.<\/p>\n In the future, with A.I., you\u2019ll be able to apply the stain digitally so you\u2019re not using the tissue. And if that stain\u2019s wrong, you\u2019ll be able to wipe it off digitally and not need another piece of tissue. It will be completely transforming.<\/p>\n THE SPEED READ <\/p>\n Deals<\/p>\n SpaceX is said to have trimmed the valuation target for its I.P.O. to at least $1.8 trillion<\/a>, from more than $2 billion. (Bloomberg)<\/p>\n Tilman Fertitta, a billionaire and the U.S. ambassador to Italy, has agreed to buy the casino operator Caesars Entertainment<\/a> in a deal that values it at $17.6 billion, including the assumption of debt. (FT)<\/p>\n Politics, policy and regulation<\/p>\n Best of the rest<\/p>\n