Anthropic Weighs New Model Launch as GPT-6 Astra Gains Ground Ahead of IPO

Anthropic is weighing the release of a new artificial intelligence model to counter OpenAI's recent momentum, according to three people familiar with the matter, as the company prepares for an initial public offering and navigates internal debate over safety and competition.

The deliberations come after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei publicly called for the global AI community to slow the pace of releasing new capabilities. In a 3,800-word essay published on September 12, Amodei argued that the industry must temper its rapid advances to address safety risks, painting a stark picture of AI agents potentially overwhelming human control. The essay drew support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Despite that stance, competitive pressure is mounting. OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra on September 3, touting improvements in computer use, software engineering, cybersecurity and professional tasks. The model has been well received by enterprise users and developers, prompting some investors to reassess Anthropic's standing as the leading provider of enterprise AI tools.

Data from corporate expense platform Ramp shows Astra accounted for about 13% of enterprise AI spending, compared with roughly 8% for Anthropic's Claude Fable. On OpenRouter, a platform that routes developer traffic across AI models, users spent more on OpenAI models than on Anthropic models last week — the first time OpenAI has led on that measure in more than two and a half years.

Anthropic is evaluating the safety of its next model as part of its deliberations, one person familiar with the matter said. Discussions also involve how to balance investment in new releases with efforts to strengthen profitability, as rising interest rates make investors more focused on the timing of expected profits.

Some existing and prospective investors believe Astra does not pose a significant threat, citing Anthropic's large lead in enterprise AI and the time it typically takes to unseat incumbent vendors at large companies. Anthropic's annualized revenue run rate topped $65 billion by the end of July, up from about $9 billion at the end of 2025, and it projects 2028 revenue of roughly $190 billion to $200 billion. OpenAI's annualized run rate passed $40 billion in July.

Investors expect leadership among Anthropic, OpenAI, Alphabet's Google and other major developers to shift repeatedly as new model generations are released, making any advantage potentially short-lived.

A broader challenge is the rise of open-source and open-weight models, which can lower token costs and allow companies to build more of their own AI infrastructure. Meta Platforms, one of Anthropic's largest customers, is looking to reduce its use of Anthropic's models as it develops more AI capabilities internally, people familiar with the matter said. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

OpenAI has eased some pressure on the race to public markets. Altman confirmed on Saturday that the company would not go public in 2026, saying AI safety concerns made it an ill-advised time for a listing.

Anthropic could push its own IPO to after the November US midterm elections, though the elections are not expected to have a major impact on the offering, according to two people familiar with the matter. The listing has already been delayed from earlier plans, with marketing previously expected to begin in mid-October at the earliest.

Anthropic declined to comment.